


Finding the link

by Ralina



Series: The open link [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-02-22 09:24:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 106,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22713811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ralina/pseuds/Ralina
Summary: At the beginning of Hermione's 5th year in Hogwarts, the ministry discovers, that there must be a student with an open magical link at the school - a phenomenon that hasn't happened for more than a hundred years. Nobody knows who it is, though, not even the person themselves, but everybody seems to be out to find the Open Link, even the Dark Lord himself.
Series: The open link [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1633519
Comments: 76
Kudos: 86
Collections: Pensieve





	1. Of meddlesome mothers

**Author's Note:**

> We are starting in Hermione’s fifth year this time so there is a lot of ground to cover and quite a bit of teenage drama ahead of us. This might be a loooong fanfic, because I want to take my time exploring all the different characters, so be prepared. I hope you’re up for it. 
> 
> The pairing for this fanfic is still undecided. I put multi as a category because it could turn out to be a triad fic again. But I'm not sure yet. I just wanted to make you aware that it's a possibility.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! I finally found a brilliant beta for my story. Her name is rosequartzstars. With her help, this story will get even more enjoyable, than it hopefully already is. If you are starting with this story, you should be aware that it is an emotional rollercoaster ride. But there is a HEA at the end, I swear! 

In contradiction to everything that was said about her and her love of learning, Hermione Granger adored school holidays. It wasn’t just that she was finally able to see her parents: it also gave her the opportunity to wind down from all the stress that had taken hold of her during the previous weeks and months. The last school year had been extreme, even for her. The added stress of helping Harry through the Triwizard Tournament had done its part to make her tired and weary and when they’d finally thought that it was all over with the third task, Harry had come back with a dead Cedric and the devastating news that You-Know-Who was back. No matter what the press said about Harry’s and Dumbledore’s mental states, Hermione believed every word and couldn’t help but worry about what was to come.

"What's wrong, Pumpkin?" her dad said with obvious worry in his voice. "You've been staring at the same page of that book for almost ten minutes. That's not like you at all." He smiled affectionately towards her from his sunbed next to her.

“Leave her be, Dan,” her mother muttered from behind him. “She’s probably thinking about that nice Bulgarian guy who keeps writing to her, even though he’s back in his country now. What was his name again, Honey?”

Hermione sighed tiredly. “His name’s Viktor, Mum, but I  _ told _ you, we’re just friends. I’m not pining after him or anything…” And it was true. Viktor was a nice guy and he had kept her company and cheered her up during the last months. He was the first man that saw there was more to her than a bookish know-it-all with big teeth, and he had had no qualms inviting her as his date for the Yule Ball.

Her mum smiled knowingly. “Not even a little bit? He was your first kiss, if I remember correctly, and by the colour of your cheeks it must have been a fairly nice kiss."

Merlin, when had her mum gotten so nosy? Yes, there had been a kiss, or maybe two or three, in the gardens at the Yule Ball, and there had been a time of holding hands afterwards. But after a while, they had both agreed that they were better off as friends in the long term.

“It was nice,” she finally admitted with a little smile and her mum grinned happily at her.

“I remember how it was when I was your age. My heart was broken at least once a month and I kept pining after Henry Jarnson even though the boy was never interested in me.”

Hermione rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide the amused smile on her lips. “Well, luckily that’s not my case, maybe I take after dad in this respect.” She smiled and put her book aside. “I don’t have time for such nonsense.”

Her mum shrugged unconcernedly. “You’re probably just a late bloomer. Don't worry, you'll experience the pining and the heartbreak soon enough." Her mother winked at her before she got to her feet. "I'll go inside and grab us some snacks and lemonade. What about you two go swimming in the pool? You've been staring into your books long enough."

Her father looked at Hermione with an eye-roll, putting his book away as he did “Guess another bit of swimming can’t hurt, right Pumpkin?”

“Alright,” she said and got up from her sunbed. There was always more time for reading afterwards.

Yes, Hermione Granger loved the holidays, and this one was no exception.

Sssssssss

Fred and George had been busy throughout the holidays. It had always been their dream to open a joke shop on their own, and now, with Harry's generous gift, it was suddenly possible. The twins had been working night and day to do just that because they knew the day was coming soon. Their parents had been unusually busy and more than once Remus Lupin or some other grim-looking person visited the Burrow in the evenings and involved their parents in late-night-discussions about what was to come. Fred knew it wasn’t going to be pretty but as it was impossible to get anything out of their parents, he and his brother had started tossing ideas around and finally had come to the idea for Extendable Ears. This was how they learned that they would have to switch quarters soon, because the whole Weasley family was moving to Grimmauld Place for the rest of the holidays and they would not be the only ones.

“This is actually a nice neighbourhood,” George said next to him and whistled through his teeth, as they strolled along the sidewalks of Hampstead.

“Yeah,” Fred replied with a nod and looked around. They had never been to the area before, but when their parents asked them to play owl for them, they had happily agreed. It gave them the opportunity to get out of the house and away from their mother’s lectures about the importance of schoolwork for a bit. “I think we’re close now. Look, there’s already number 18." Fred pointed towards a large brick house with a huge, well-kept garden and a white picket fence. It almost looked idyllic, but also very boring in his opinion. Still, it fit the picture of Ron's bookish friend.

“Let’s see if she’s at home, shall we?” George said, and confidently strode along the tiled footpath through the garden towards the brown, wooden front door of the house. He pressed the little button that was the doorbell without hesitation, and immediately a nice melody chimed inside the house. Wasn't it supposed to make a ringing noise or something? Obviously not, because only a few moments later the door was opened by a pretty brunette woman, who was clearly Hermione Granger's mother. She had the same bushy hair and eyes as their school friend, and apart from the fact that she looked older and curvier, both women looked almost the same.

"Hello, boys, what can I do for you?" the woman asked politely, looking at them with a friendly smile. In return, Fred plastered a wide smile on his face.

“Hello, Mrs Granger, we’re Fred and George Weasley," he said without hesitation, and saw his brother nodding. "We're friends of Hermione’s, and we wondered if she’s at home.”

It was obviously the right thing to say, because Mrs. Granger stepped aside with a wide smile on her face. "Of course, boys, do come in! Hermione rarely has friends visit. I'm sure she'll be pleased to see you."

Fred followed her into the house and couldn't help but note the differences to his own home. Apart from the fact that it was undeniably a Muggle household and his father would have had a field day with all the strange devices that they encountered, everything was absolutely neat, and there seemed to be a colour pattern for all the rooms they passed. In the Burrow, all rooms seemed randomly decorated in comparison and contained lots of stuff, much of which was probably older than he was. For some reason, he liked it better that way, even if it might have seemed totally chaotic to people like the Grangers. Luckily, that wasn't anything he had to be concerned with.

“Hermione’s in the backyard,” Mrs Granger said, stepping into a living room with several large windows looking out to a garden with a pool in the middle. At first, Fred couldn't spot Hermione, but eventually he made out two figures moving in the middle of the pool. Fred could see that one of them was Hermione, the sight taking him totally by surprise. “Go ahead, boys, she’s in the pool. I’ll be with you shortly.”

Hermione's mum waved them off with a smile, and, after a moment of hesitation, both twins shrugged and strolled through the garden. At first they went totally unnoticed, but when they reached the border of the pool, Hermione finally looked up and her eyes widened in surprise.

“Fred? George? What are you doing here?”

Fred looked at her with a broad smile, but before he could open his mouth George answered, "Mum sends us with a message— didn't want to send an owl, you know?" The little witch nodded and Fred knew that she understood what his brother wasn't saying. An owl could be intercepted on its way and so their parents hadn't wanted to risk it.

“Alright,” the girl said with a smile, swimming to the edge of the pool, where she gracefully pulled herself up. For a moment Fred had problems keeping his eyes wandering to places they definitely shouldn’t be. Hermione Granger was definitely a woman now, not the little girl they had once met by the Hogwarts Express. It had already been evident at the Yule Ball last year, but it was even more obvious through the blue-and-white-striped swimsuit she was wearing now. “Just give me a moment to dry myself off,” she mumbled, and for a moment he could have sworn he saw a faint blush on her cheeks, but it was probably just his imagination. “Then we can go inside.”

"Nonsense," her mother suddenly interrupted her from behind. "Those friends of yours look like they'd love to have a little swim in the pool, too. And why not? It’s a beautiful day, and I’ve already fetched some of your dad’s swimming trunks.”

“Mum!” the girl protested and looked at her mother with wide eyes. “You can’t just…” But the woman simply cut her daughter off and looked at the twins with a smile.

“Well, boys? What do you say? Are you up for a little swim?”

It wasn’t a hard decision. The weather was indeed beautiful, and it was either this or going back to their mum, who was in all certainty waiting with another lecture. “Sounds brilliant!” they replied with wide grins on their faces, and a wave of their wands later, they had transfigured their summer clothes into comfortable swimming trunks. Being of age definitely had its merits. 

Before Hermione knew what was happening, there were two redheads splashing in the pool. Both of them immediately started swimming around before the whole thing morphed into something of a chase, which she watched with her mouth hanging slightly open.

“How come you never mentioned those handsome friends of yours?” her mother muttered, suddenly appearing behind her.

Hermione stared at her with narrowed eyes. “What is it you’re implying, Mum? Those are Ron’s brothers, I’m sure I’ve mentioned them. But they’re not... we’re not...” she stuttered, but her mum just stared at her with a growing smile.

“Not yet, but they look like they’re definitely up for it. They’re quite fit, you know? Handsome, too.”

Hermione groaned. “So? They’re still Ron’s  _ brothers _ .”

But her mother only chuckled. "So? Your dad is uncle Tim's brother, and we were in the same class, just like you and Ronald. That doesn't mean anything. Now go back into the pool and have some fun. No, don't tell me you don't have time for that, because right now you do. It’s summer!" Hermione felt a little shove from behind and stumbled forward, which was when Fred and George saw her.

"Come on, Hermione," George shouted and waved a water ball her dad had given him. "We need you to join us so we can start a game."

She groaned inwardly, plastering a smile on her face. "I'm coming," she shouted, shrugging off her towel, stepping closer to the pool. These boys were almost like brothers to her, so she guessed a game of water ball or two couldn’t hurt. Maybe this would finally satisfy her overexcited and nosy mother, which would be a nice bonus.

ssssssss

George was tired, but happy, when they finally made it out of the Granger's swimming pool an hour later. Playing in the pool with Hermione, her father, and Fred had been unexpectedly fun, and the two Grangers made good team partners. In the end, it had been Fred and Mr Granger who won the game, but it was a close call, and George didn’t mind at all. For him, it had been a much better afternoon than expected (and worlds more exciting than the time he would have had in the Burrow).

"So, what kind of message did you want to deliver before my mum more or less forced you to spend the afternoon with us?" Hermione asked, drying herself with her fluffy towel. George and his brother had made little progress the Muggle way, and had simply opted to use magic to get themselves dry and clad in their regular clothes. As their friend was still underage, she didn't have that option.

George looked around. Her parents were nowhere in sight and so he stepped closer and said in a hushed tone: “We’ll move quarters in a few days. Seems like Dumbledore and a few others want to resurrect their old resistance group. They want to move the headquarters to Sirius's old home and we’re here to tell you that you’re invited too."

Hermione nodded contemplatively. “I see. Well, I'm not sure if I could come right away. I rarely see my parents now that I'm at school, and they want to spend as much time with me as possible. For Muggles, it’s really hard to accept that their only child is away most of the year, you know? Still, I need to know what’s happening, so I can prepare for the fight ahead..."

George and his brother nodded in understanding. It was kind of a shitty situation for her. The girl was Muggleborn, after all, and already had a target on her back. It was only natural that she wanted to prepare herself, if that was even possible. As scarily smart as Hermione Granger was, it probably was the only way she would be allowed to use magic without the fear of being discovered, and therefore prepare herself. "Understandable. Well, maybe we could help to convince your parents. Your mum seemed to like us."

The little witch groaned in embarrassment. “Don’t remind me. She’s kind of obsessed with the thought that I need some more romantic excitement in my life, and then you both came along. I won’t hear the end of it.”

Fred snorted next to him but George ignored his brother and smiled. “Well, that kind of plays into our cards, right? Shall I talk to her and ask her for a little more time with you?” He winked at her and Hermione stared at him with wide eyes and rosy cheeks. 

“You’d do that? But she… she would think…”

She couldn’t finish the sentence; instead, she just gaped at him, and so George supplied the end of her sentence. “Think what? That I fancy you?" He shrugged totally unconcernedly. "Would it bother you, if she thought that of me?"

Hermione stared at him for a long moment and he really couldn’t tell what she was thinking. So he let an encouraging smile take over his face. He wasn’t sure himself why he was suggesting this kind of thing, but it seemed like the easiest way to help Hermione. It was for a good cause, right?

“Well, she’ll probably pester me for details in her letters, but I think I’ll be able to deal with that,” the bushy-haired girl said gnawing on her bottom lip. “It’s not like it’s true anyway, right? Alright, tell her and then let’s see if they let me go.”

He grinned at her. “Don’t worry, Hermione. I can be very convincing,” he said and winked at her. And he kind of liked the blush that spread on her cheeks at his words.

sssssssss

George's plan worked perfectly, but the days until she could finally leave for the Burrow were the longest of her life. Whatever George had said to her mother had put the unmistakable idea in her head that Hermione had a secret admirer. As a result, the meddlesome woman seemed to spend almost every spare minute reminding Hermione of what a good-looking and nice boy George Weasley was. Hermione would have almost found it funny if her head hadn't started replaying scenes from their shared time in the pool. Sometimes, when she closed her eyes in the evening, Hermione could see the drops of water gleaming on his bare chest, a thought that upon reflection was completely unsettling. Somehow her mum's talk of teenage romance had gotten into her head and kicked off the final stage of her puberty. But feeling heartbreak over a boy was the last thing Hermione Granger needed. She didn’t have time for that kind of nonsense, after all.

ssssssssss

The days until Hermione’s arrival at the Burrow were packed with planning and product design. Fred had come up with the brilliant idea of a mail-order business that they would be able to run during their last year at Hogwarts, though this meant that they'd need to have the forms ready and a stock of original products to tempt potential customers. Therefore, the twins spent most of the time locked in their room and did what they did best: they planned mischief.

"I still can't believe they're letting us pick her up," George murmured to his brother when they found themselves back at Hermione's house five days after their last visit. It hadn't been hard to convince their parents to let them pick up the girl, as everyone was busy and they both had their Apparition licenses. It would be a quick in-and-out (with the added bonus that George could show his handsome face to Hermione’s mother, making their story more believable).

“Well, we’re lucky everyone is busy planning the move into the new place. Wonder how it will be in Sirius’s old childhood home? The Blacks aren’t known for their cheerful nature…” Fred mused, but his twin just shrugged and rang the Granger’s melodic doorbell.

"Ah, Fred, George! It's so nice to see you again. Do come in!" Opening the door, Mrs Granger invited them into the house almost immediately. "Hermione couldn't wait to finally see you again." She winked at them and smiled knowingly. Fred had to prevent himself from rolling his eyes, because he was pretty sure that Hermione Granger had no interest in him or his brother whatsoever, but her mother seemed convinced otherwise.

“Hermione, honey, your boys are here to pick you up,” Mrs Granger shouted up the stairs, and a moment later, a door opened and a sour-looking Hermione trudged down the stairs.

“Mum, please, for the hundredth time, they aren’t  _ my _ boys. They're just here to pick me up," the girl mumbled to her mother, her cheeks tinged pink with embarrassment, before casting them a hesitant smile. “Hey Fred, hey George. It’s so nice of you to pick me up.”

“Hello, Hermione,” George greeted her and Fred saw an almost sappy smile draw itself across his face. It was hilarious— and absolutely believable. Hermione’s mum seemed to think so too.

“I’m sure those boys don’t mind at all, isn’t that right?” she said, winking at them conspiratorially. Fred saw Hermione roll her eyes.

“Sure we don’t,” Fred said quickly and smiled. “Do you have everything packed up, Hermione?”

“Everything’s upstairs,” she said quickly and smiled at them. “You’re sure we can take everything along? What about Crooks?”

“Don’t worry about him,” Fred said with a confident smile. “I’ll take him along with me, he’ll be right as rain. George and I were best in class when it came to Apparition lessons, so don’t worry.”

For a moment the girl looked at them in total disbelief, then something shifted behind her eyes and she smiled. “Alright, I trust you,” she said, and for a moment Fred’s heart jumped in his chest. Nobody had ever said that to him, which was sad, but true nonetheless. It was probably due to their reputation as pranksters and troublemakers, but that certainly wasn’t all that they were. Nobody seemed to see that though, not until this moment. Fred could see in Hermione’s eyes that her words were genuine, and he puffed his chest with pride.

“We won’t let you down, Hermione,” he promised with an honest smile before moving towards the stairs. “Shall we then?” Hermione looked at George for a moment, before she blinked and turned to her mother.

"Alright, Mum, I guess I'll be off then. I'll write to you soon, I promise," she said before being pulled into a tight hug and kissed on the cheek.

"I'm counting on it, honey. Who knows? Maybe you'll have something to tell me sooner than you expect." The words were whispered into Hermione's ear, but Fred heard them anyway. He schooled his features, waiting patiently for the two women to finish their goodbyes. It didn't take long before Hermione pulled away with a tight smile, briefly revealing the sadness of leaving her parents despite trying to make them believe otherwise, and led them up the stairs. Her mother stayed behind and waved at them with a happy smile and twinkling eyes.

Hermione's room was everything Fred had expected yet totally different at the same time. On the wall next to the bed, there was a huge shelf that was stuffed with various books. There was also a large variety of Muggle equipment, and Fred didn't have the tiniest idea what any of it was. With palpable interest, he looked at the stuff assembled on her large desk and table next to it.

"What's all that stuff?" his brother asked before he had the chance, and he saw Hermione turn towards George with a pleased smile.

"It's my science equipment. I still try to get stuff done on the holidays, you know?" She pointed at a large metal and glass instrument and said, "That's a microscope. Non-magical people use it to see tiny structures. If we had more time, I would show you."

“Sounds fascinating. Maybe next time?” George smiled kindly and the girl looked quite pleased at that.

“Yeah, sure. Why not?” she said before turning towards her bed. “Here’s my suitcase and that’s Crooks’s travel basket. So how shall we do this?” She looked at them with an expectant expression.

Fred smiled. “I’ll take your stuff and George will apparate you along. It will only be a moment. Just hold on tight and you’ll be alright.”

Hermione nodded and stepped towards his brother with a nervous smile. “Alright. I guess I can do this.”

George offered his arm and Hermione took it without hesitation, clasping it tightly with both hands. For a split second, something in Fred twitched at the sight, but it was gone a moment later.

“Alright, Hermione, I’ll count to three and then we’ll be off. Just take a deep breath and don’t let go. Can you do that?” George asked with an encouraging smile. The little witch nodded. His brother started to count and when he reached two, Hermione stared with wide eyes while he smiled comfortingly. Then he saw her take a deep breath and a moment later they were off. Suddenly alone, Fred felt like an intruder in her room.

“Alright, you little bugger,” he addressed her ugly cat, picking up his basket. “Your mistress is already gone, so let’s make this quick, shall we? At the Burrow there are lots of Garden Gnomes for you to hunt, so that’s a thing to look forward to, huh?” He smiled before grabbing the huge trunk with his other hand. “Here we go. Just please don’t puke on me, mate, alright?” And with a crack, Fred Weasley Apparated away.

sssssssss

Hermione stumbled forward, and would have surely landed on her knees if George hadn't been holding her upright. She hadn't known what to expect from Apparation, but it was like riding a rollercoaster blindfolded through the eye of a needle. Her stomach churned violently, and she was pretty sure she was going to lose its contents in front of George.

“Hermione? You alright?" she heard his concerned voice from next to her, but she could only shake her head mutely before her knees buckled and she swayed. The redhead immediately put an arm around her waist and steadied her against him. "Don't worry, I've got you," he assured her and Hermione used the chance to lean against him and close her eyes for a few seconds. The world was still swaying around her, but at least she could feel her stomach slowly settling down.

“Merlin, I’m not eager to repeat that experience anytime soon,” she mumbled, taking a deep breath. “That is ten times worse than flying on a broom, and I’m not a big fan of that either.”

George didn't say anything, waiting patiently until she felt better. It took her a few more minutes, but she was finally able to open her eyes and step back. "Better now?" he asked, his brown eyes staring in concern. Hermione put on a brave smile, which probably looked more like a grimace.

“Yeah, thanks. I’m still a bit wobbly and I think I might skip dinner, but at least I don’t feel like I’m about to lose my lunch in front of you.”

The redhead smiled at her with twinkling eyes. "Understandable. Percy puked the first time Dad took him along, and I'm sure he's not the only one. It gets better with time. Don't worry, side-along Apparition is much worse than doing it yourself."

Hermione nodded weakly and started to walk towards the Burrow. The house was still about 200 metres away, but she was happy to get some more fresh air. George fell into step next to her, but they hadn't even made it half way when an agitated Crookshanks dashed though the grass and leapt into Hermione's arms. There he cuddled close and looked at Fred, who was standing a few metres away, with small distrustful eyes.

“He bolted as soon as I opened his basket,” the redhead explained with an apologetic smile towards Hermione. She scratched the nervous furball behind an ear before looking at Fred with a faint smile. "I'm sure he didn't like Apparating any more than I did. You should probably avoid him for a few days. He can be a bit vengeful, you know?”

Fred snorted. “Alright. Shall we go in? Ginny can’t wait for a bit of female backup. Ron’s been driving her nuts.”

Hermione giggled and started moving towards the house. “Can’t imagine why.”

The Burrow was exactly like Hermione remembered it. The house was the total opposite from her parents’ home, and when she visited it for the first time, she was totally overwhelmed by the chaos. Only that it wasn’t chaos in the least, as she found out later, and by now she felt almost at home in the crooked, strange wizarding home. It was probably due to the fact that the Weasleys had always treated her like family— not only Ron's parents, but the whole family had simply accepted her as one of their own. It was a strange feeling, Hermione never having any siblings for herself, though she definitely saw Ginny as a younger sister now. In fact, until recently, she had also viewed Fred and George as something like older brothers, but since they had come to her home some days ago, not so much…

It was most likely due to her mother's talk of teenage romance and never-ending comments about how handsome the two men were. Hermione was catching herself, almost daily, thinking about what it would be like to be Fred's or George's girlfriend. It was totally hilarious, because she was sure that they weren't remotely interested in her. Now that her mother would only be able to nag her through her letters, she would hopefully leave this embarrassing phase behind her, soon. After all, pining after somebody who was far out of her reach was anything but fun.


	2. The grim old place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello to all of you, who want to join me on this exciting journey. I am happy for each one of you and grateful for all the love and support you are giving me. For those of you who are wondering about the pairing: I honestly can not say which pairing we will have in the end, as I am only in chapter 5 by now. This could either be Hermione/Fred, Hermione/George or Hermione/Fred/George. So if any of those possibilities bother you, you probably shouldn't read any further.

Grimmauld Place wasn't at all what Hermione had expected it to be. She’d not heard much about Sirius Black's family, but through Harry, she knew that his godfather had run away as a teenager. As soon as she set foot in the house, she knew why. It took mere seconds until the nasty portrait next to the front door started berating her. She looked at it with wide eyes, frozen in shock.

“Oh, shut up!” the voice of Sirius Black roared from inside, and a moment later, the man was in front of her, his figure gaunt and his eyes wide. His black wand was drawn in his right hand and for a moment she was brought back to seeing him in the Shrieking Shack, insanity clearly shimmering in his eyes. Before she registered what she was doing, she stumbled backwards until her back hit a warm body behind her.

"Oi, careful Hermione," Fred mumbled behind her, but for a second she just leaned closer, fumbling for her wand. It was only a moment until the others registered what she was doing, and Sirius Black immediately froze and looked at her with a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, Hermione, I really didn't mean to scare you," he said as he scratched the back of his head and took a step back.

Hermione looked at him with burning cheeks. “I… you just startled me, that’s all,” she admitted. She forced herself to step away from Fred, whom she could feel looking at her. His eyes on her did nothing to reduce her embarrassment.

“It’s all right. We didn’t start off on the best foot after all,” Sirius said, rubbing his neck. “But I promise— I’m totally friendly to anyone who isn’t related to me.” He smirked and winked at Tonks, who must have been standing somewhere behind her. “Do come in, you lot. This place is a shithole, but I’m so happy to have you stay here. There’s enough room for all of you, as soon as we get the place cleaned up a bit.”

With that, he turned around and led them through a dimly lit hallway that had a massive staircase at its right side. Hermione looked up and realized with horror that shrunken house-elf heads lined the wall, presumably as a decoration. It took all her willpower not to turn around and start running from this place (and, by the look of it, she wasn't the only one feeling that way).

"Can we share a room, Hermione?" Ginny mumbled behind her and Hermione nodded mutely. She was sure, even with Ginny next to her, she would have trouble even closing her eyes in the evenings.

"I bet there's lots of dark stuff hidden in all of these rooms," Ron mumbled behind her with something like awe. "Let's go exploring for a bit after dinner," he suggested, and she could see the twins clapping his back in excitement. 

"Brilliant idea. Count us in, Ronnekins,” they said with matching grins on their faces. Hermione couldn’t help rolling her eyes at them.

"I'm going to the library. Don't fancy getting myself into trouble on the first day," she said, and turned to Ginny. "Shall we go and see if there’s a room for us?”

The redhead nodded eagerly and followed her up the stairs after a moment. "She's such a killjoy sometimes," Hermione heard Ron complain to the twins, but she didn't turn around to see their reaction. If they wanted to get themselves in trouble, then so be it. She had better things to do with her time. The school year hadn't even started, but she had a feeling that trouble wouldn't wait for long to find her again. When it did, she wanted to be prepared.

The library at Grimmauld Place was a dark and dusty place, but it was also a place where Hermione could feel at home, so she buried herself there as soon as she had a minute of free time. The place was like a huge restricted section, and as all the adults seemed to trust her, she was left to browse the shelves in peace.

It was her way of getting away from all the madness around her. The adults were usually busy in the kitchen or cleaning out room after room of the house. Most of the rooms were stuffed with dark artifacts, and Ron and the twins had learned on their first evening that it was a bad idea to browse these rooms without backup. Hermione still felt an air of satisfaction when she remembered Ron's panicked face as he came rushing into the kitchen the first evening, sporting some sort of pink moving bulges that seemed to roam all over his body. It took all her willpower not to rub in his face that she had, of course, been right to warn them, but it seemed he and the twins were expecting her to tell them off, and so she bit her tongue.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice behind her. “Mind if I join you?” Without looking up, she knew that it was Sirius Black talking to her.

"Not at all," she lied because, to be honest, she still felt slightly uncomfortable in the man's presence. But she couldn't just send him away in his own house.

"Good, because I'd like to talk to you if you don't mind," Sirius said, sitting down in the wing chair across from her.

Hermione put her book away with a sigh before forcing a grin. "How can I help you, Mr Black?"

He frowned. “Would you mind calling me Sirius? Everyone does and, to be honest, I feel kind of old when you call me Mr Black.” He smiled and, for a moment, Hermione could see that he must have been handsome once, but she crushed that thought immediately. Merlin, what was  _ wrong _ with her recently? She closed her eyes for a second, in hopes of hiding her embarrassment.

"Alright, Sirius," she said after a moment and forced herself to look at him again. She realized that he was watching her with a curious expression.

“What’s wrong, Hermione? I don’t want to intrude, but I have the feeling that something is bothering you.”

Hermione sighed. She really didn’t want to have this conversation. “No, I’m alright, thanks for asking,” she said quickly, but she could see that he wasn’t buying it.

“Is it the house? Because believe me, I can understand. I hate this place more than I can verbally express, but my parents had the house well secured. Grimmauld Place has all the protections money —or magic— could get, and that’s why we’re stuck here.” Sirius smiled apologetically.

Hermione shook her head with a sigh. “That’s alright; don’t worry, Sirius. It’s… I just feel a bit off lately. I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression.”

“So you haven’t been avoiding me?” he inquired with a knowing smile. Hermione groaned inwardly. Had she been that obvious?

“I…” she didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to offend you or anything, it’s just…”

"…that you don’t know me and I seemed a bit crazy when we last met?" he concluded with a snort. "Don't worry, I get it. I surely haven't made the best of impressions, but I'd like to change that. You're one of Harry's best friends, which means we’re likely to see a lot of each other in the future, and I'd hate it if you felt like running every time you caught sight of me." He winked at her and Hermione couldn't help but snort.

“That would definitely be awkward,” Hermione admitted with a smile.

Sirius grinned. "See? So could you imagine being friends with this old dog instead? I swear I don't bite." For a moment she could have sworn the man was making puppy dog eyes at her. Within the blink of an eye, it was not Sirius Black but a huge black dog sitting in front of her on the wing chair, wagging its tail excitedly. Hermione looked at the dog with a stunned expression.

“Uh…”

That didn't seem to be the response Sirius had been expecting because suddenly the dog leapt out of the chair only to put its head in her lap, where it looked at her with wide pleading eyes while making a whining noise.

Hermione snorted. “Alright, alright. We can be friends," she agreed with a huff. The black dog lifted its head and looked at her with happy eyes and tongue lolling out of its mouth. Hermione shook her head with a chuckle. She couldn't help but be under the impression that she had just fallen victim to Sirius Black's charm. She also had the impression, somehow, that he had known exactly what he was doing.

sssssssss

George hated Grimmauld Place. The house was dark, dirty and emitted an air of depression and hate that was seeping into his bones. They had been in the place for a week now, and he could feel that it was having the same effect on his twin: Fred rarely smiled now, and that simply wasn't right. This house was pulling them down, crushing their happiness, making it hard for them to be their usual cheerful selves. Nevertheless, they had made it their mission not to let anyone notice that they felt off. Still, Fred and George had renamed Grimmauld Place “the grim old place” in their heads because, really, that’s what it was. Using that name among themselves helped to cheer them up (a bit, at least). It got harder day after day.

George was not sure why he and his brothers had been so keen on exploring the rooms of this place. By now, they must have cleaned out four or five of them, and apart from a bunch of Puffskeins —which they could use for some breeding experiments—, there was nothing remotely of interest. By the fifth day, they wished they could find a reason to stay in their room. Maybe if they got themselves sick somehow? That wouldn't be very beneficial, would it? But what if they found a way to  _ appear _ sick without actually suffering the long-term effects? That would be something to put a bit of thought to... and wouldn’t that be a product they could sell to desperate Hogwarts students, too?

George and his brother rarely ever felt down, as they always kept each other standing up and in good humour, but that wasn't easy after their mum had found out their plans to open a shop, burned their stash of order forms, and kept them busy with cleaning the dingy place while lecturing them on the importance of school work. It was enough to make even them grumpy, and that was saying something. But Grimmauld Place itself seemed to take its toll on all of them, with Sirius suffering the most. He was a grumpy bastard now, and there wasn't much left of the daring Marauder he was known as in his youth. Azkaban had almost snuffed out that light and, it seemed, this bloody house was trying to finish the job. What a shame.

It didn’t get better when one evening Dumbledore stormed into the house and a shouting match erupted downstairs in the kitchen. They didn’t even need Extendable Ears to hear that Mundungus Fletcher had fucked something up spectacularly. They weren’t the only ones listening in, though, as a moment later their wide-eyed sister stumbled into their room with a grim-looking Hermione Granger in tow.

"Do you know what this is all about?" she asked them in a whisper, throwing herself onto his bed. George moved aside to make room for her.

“They were obviously keeping tabs on Harry,” Fred explained. “Looks like people from the Order were standing guard around his aunt’s house, but Mundungus left early today and there seems to have been an attack.”

Hermione nodded grimly. “I’ve never seen Dumbledore this angry. It was absolutely scary,” the little witch admitted, shifting from one leg to the other while standing in the middle of the room.

"Argh, would you please sit down, Hermione?" Ginny huffed in annoyance. "You're making me even more nervous than I already am."

Hermione sighed before she sat down next to Fred on his bed, looking at them with a tired expression. "Sorry, I just feel like I need to  _ do _ something, you know?” she said while gnawing at her bottom lip. It was a nervous habit George had seen her indulge in from time to time, and he smiled at the familiarity of it.

“Absolutely,” Fred agreed with a determined nod. “But we asked the adults and they won’t let us join the Order, even though we’re of age. They said we have to finish school first— ridiculous, if you ask me. As if the Dark Lord is going to ask you how many NEWTs you got before he kills you.”

George couldn’t help but snort, and even Hermione couldn’t resist a hint of a smile.. “I know,” she said, back to her dark expression, and looked at them with furrowed brows. “But there isn’t much we seem to be able to do right now. The library of the house has some useful books on curses and counter curses, but some of them sound really dark, and I’m not sure if I should try them without an instructor. I tried to talk to Professor Lupin one evening, but he seemed busy and didn’t really have time to listen.” She sighed and rubbed her forehead.

For a moment they sat in silence before George suddenly felt his little sister lean against him with a sigh. "Do you think Harry's alright?" she asked in a small voice that he recognized from when she was scared or a small child.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” George consoled her, pulling her close. “He’s a skilled wizard, and even though shit seems to follow him around, he’s gotten away over and over again.”

Ginny nodded mutely and leaned her head against his side. “I hope you’re right,” she mumbled and Hermione nodded towards her with a smile.

"I'm sure he is. Harry can look after himself, Ginny. Don't worry. Maybe they'll now finally decide that it’s best to bring him here. I swear, if I have to write another meaningless letter to him…"

She scowled, and even though she hadn't said anything remotely funny, her expression put a little smile on George’s face. It was his first one in what felt like ages, and for that fact alone, he could have hugged her.

sssssssss

Hermione would be happy when they were finally able to leave Grimmauld Place behind. The days there hadn’t been anything like she had expected or hoped them to be. She liked the Weasleys, of course —they were like a second family to her—, but Ron's parents seemed constantly busy. Fred and George mostly hid in their room, when they weren't cleaning dingy drawing rooms alongside herself, Ron, and Ginny. There wasn't much of a chance for her to learn anything that would help her defend herself from You-Know-Who and his followers. This was more than disappointing, considering that she was living in the headquarters of probably the only resistance group in the budding wizarding war. Frustratingly, the adults seemed busy planning whatever, and there wasn't any training going on. So Hermione spent her days cleaning and secretly mourning the time she could have spent with her parents and a good book at their pool.

When Harry finally arrived, Hermione hoped for a moment that things would change. But even though Harry had been angry and had demanded answers, they didn’t learn much except that there was some kind of secret weapon in need of protection. The cleaning sessions continued, and it wasn’t until Harry’s hearing at the Ministry that the spirits at Grimmauld Place seemed to lift. Everyone was happy that Harry had avoided expulsion. Despite how ridiculous they believed the Ministry’s accusations, it had been a close call.

"Can't wait to get back to Hogwarts," Ron mumbled next to her, lounging in a wing chair in the dark library. "I swear, if I have to clean another fucking drawing-room…" he moaned and stretched his legs. While Hermione didn't agree with his language, she did very much agree with what he was saying. Merlin, she felt like these weeks at the Headquarters had almost been a total waste of time.

She sighed. “Yeah. You see, Harry, there's really nothing about our time here of which you need to be jealous," she soothed her friend, who still seemed more short-tempered than usual. She had been walking on eggshells around him for the last few days, as it always seemed his anger was constantly simmering below his surface. Having one of her friends angry at her again wasn't something she thought she could deal with right now.

“Yeah, I know,” Harry admitted with a scowl. “I just felt so left out. Maybe you didn’t get to do anything exciting, but at least you had each other while I was rotting away in Privet Drive.” Hermione sighed: that much was true.

“I get what you’re saying, mate,” Ron said with a smile. “Well, tomorrow we’ll finally be back at the castle and then it’s just the usual craziness of another year at Hogwarts.”

Hermione laughed. “You mean trolls, dementors, and basilisks that are out to kill us?”

Harry laughed. “Just the usual, then. For some reason I’ve got the feeling that this year might be special. I dunno why…”

She smiled nervously. “I hope you mean special in a good way. I know you boys love the excitement, but I really wouldn’t mind a year of uninterrupted studying.”

The boys snorted. “I don’t think we’ll be so lucky,” Ron said and Hermione, against her deeper wishes, silently agreed.

Sssssssss

Severus Snape didn't have a good summer holiday, not at all. Since the Dark Lord had returned at the end of the last term, his already shitty life had turned even shittier, which was really saying something. Though more than half of the wizarding world didn't believe the brat and the old fool (also known as Harry Potter and Headmaster Dumbledore, respectively), Severus Snape had daily proof of the veracity of their story. He had done a lot of cowering and kneeling and pleading in the last weeks, and he wasn't sure if his ageing joints would ever recover. Not that it really mattered, because if things kept going south as they had been, he wouldn't see the end of the upcoming school term.

“You may raise, Severusssss," the snake-like man hissed from the makeshift throne he had built himself in Lucius's house. Snape didn't envy his old friend Lucius for the questionable honour of playing host to his important guest. Severus could only guess what it would mean for Malfoy to displease the Dark Lord in any way. His master had definitely lost even more of his patience since his miraculous resurrection a few weeks ago.

"Thank you, my Lord," Severus replied in a most devout voice, rising from his place on the cold marble floor, where his Master had had him kneel for several minutes while staring at him through small, red eyes. It was always the same: he would try to read his thoughts while Severus would block him with his Occlumency skills— and so far, he must have been successful, because of the unmistakable fact that he was still alive.

“I have a task for you, Severussss,” Lord Voldemort said, and looked at him with an expression that implied that Snape should call himself lucky for being chosen in the first place. It was an unambiguous hint that he was in trouble. He bowed his head, plastering a grateful smile on his face, before mumbling something about being grateful for receiving such an honour.

“The Ministry just discovered the appearance of an Open Link, Severussss… Such a thing hasn’t happened in 102 years.”

Severus blinked in confusion. He had never heard of such a thing and he prided himself to be a well-read wizard. "An Open Link, my Lord? I don’t understand…” he confessed, fearing it would bring him another round of Crucio, yet his master seemed surprisingly pleased with his confession.

“There is no shame in that, my faithful servant. It is quite a rare phenomenon that only establishes itself in witches or wizards on the brink of adulthood. You see, usually, the magic is locked inside of our magical core but in case of this anomaly, the person is able to connect themselves to a witch or wizard of their choosing and share their magical power with them. Notably, it only works as long as there's some kind of emotional attachment involved."

Severus contemplated the Dark Lord's words. Having such a person at hand would have definite advantages for whoever was able to conquer the Open Link. It was no surprise that his master wanted to get a hold of this living anomaly. "I can see how this would help us with our course, my Lord. But how am I supposed to find this person? Is there any kind of trait I could use to identify this Open Link?"

The pale man in front of him stroked his chin while casting him a mysterious smile. "That, I fear, is the complicated part, and the reason I have chosen you to perform this task for me. The child might not even be aware themself, but you should look out for someone experiencing strong emotions, as the Open Link will try to connect themself to someone else as quickly as possible. It will most likely be a virgin, or someone who hasn't been in a relationship before, as these feelings are just awakening. But be careful, as I am sure you'll not be the only one searching for this secret weapon. I'm sure the Ministry will also try to get its greedy fingers on our prey, not to mention your meddlesome Headmaster.”

Severus cursed inwardly. How was he supposed to find somebody like this when the halls of Hogwarts were filled with nothing but emotional teenagers? It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. In other words: he was positively screwed.


	3. The School Counsellor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter for you. I hope you like it. :-)  
> A big thank you goes to seekingSarasvati for betaing this chapter for me. It's so much better now.

This last year of their Hogwarts career would be a special one, that much was obvious to Fred and George. As notorious troublemakers, they had learned to read people around them well enough, as their success was strongly dependent on this skill. There was definitely an air of nervousness and anticipation radiating towards them from the teacher's table in the Great Hall, a sure sign that something was up. Especially promising in that regard looked the small, stout woman that was a new addition to the teacher's table. Fred prayed she wouldn't be their new Defense Professor, as she didn't look like she would be able to defeat a spider on the wall, let alone something more sinister. Merlin, he wasn't sure if he would be able to stand another Lockhart.

Whatever news it was, Dumbledore refrained from addressing them until everyone was sated and happy from the food the skilled Hogwarts house-elves had provided. When the old wizard finally rose from his seat, Fred could tell that all eyes in the Great Hall were focused on him.

“Now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, there are some announcements I’d like to make. First, I have been notified by the ministry that some days ago the appearance of an Open Link was registered in the country. As this is a condition that only appears in children undergoing puberty, it is most likely that the affected person is here, among us. Luckily the Ministry of Magic was kind enough to send somebody willing to support and educate you, considering the many questions you might have regarding this very exciting topic." With that Dumbledore turned to the short, pink woman with the ugly bow on her head and smiled grandfatherly. "Students, please welcome Dolores Umbridge, your new School Counselor and teacher for Emotional and Attachment Education." At that, Dolores Umbridge, who was looking more and more like a toad to him, rose from her seat and looked at the students with a sickly sweet smile. Fred immediately decided that he didn't like her one bit. He could already see her in his mind’s eye, sitting in a fluffy pink chair, looking at him with that same sickening smile, asking if there was something he wanted to talk to her about. It was the stuff of nightmares.

“Thank you, Headmaster, for those kind words of welcome,” Dolores Umbridge said in a high, girly voice, looking at the assembled students with her head proudly raised. "I must say, it is so lovely to be back at Hogwarts! And to see all your happy and excited faces looking up at me!” Fred grimaced. He definitely wasn’t one of those happy faces, and by the looks of it, neither was anyone around him. "Hem, hem, as your teacher for Emotional and Attachment Education —EAAE for short—, it is my task to inform you about the "Open Link" situation and the risks pertaining to this condition. There is no reason for you to worry those fragile, little heads of yours, though. I will give you all the information you need to discover whether you might be the one affected and what can be done to help you in this time of need." She puffed her chest proudly. "It will be my honour to stand by your side and support you in this time of uncertainty and emotional struggles. The Ministry is very much aware of the pressure on growing youth and has sent me to help you learn how to make good decisions. Because, as a school, it is not only our task to educate and shape your minds, but also to guard and protect those fragile little hearts beating in your chests."

Fred was going to be sick, he just knew it. Was this toady woman really telling them that she intended to educate them in… well, in what? Love? Sex? Merlin, hopefully, these lessons of hers were just about the ominous condition known as the "Open Link". Otherwise, they would have to speed the invention of their Skiving Snackboxes, as they planned to call them, because there was no chance in hell that he was sitting through more than an hour of this woman talking about love and sex.

sssssssss

The Open Link and the new, related school subject was the talk of the evening, and when the next day came, almost everybody in the Great Hall could be heard talking about it. The news that there would be no other new professor in the staff and that therefore Dumbledore himself would teach DADA for students in fifth year and above, while the other teachers would split the other classes between them, had caused surprisingly little excitement. But for Hermione, this was news that made her day. Finally, they would have a competent teacher for DADA and, hopefully, the Headmaster would be able to prepare them for what was to come! Open Link or not, the Dark Lord was lurking somewhere, just waiting for the right moment to attack, and Hermione Granger wanted to be prepared. Unfortunately, her first DADA lesson wasn't until Friday, whereas her first lesson with the new school counsellor would take place right after their block of Transfiguration on Monday morning. So Hermione, Ron and Harry soon found themselves in a classroom with a bunch of over-excited students (especially Parvati and Lavender who were already very much aflame for the new school subject). More than once Hermione heard them discuss who of the Hogwarts students would be the new 'Chosen One'.

“Hem, hem.” Hermione's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by someone clearing their throat, and when she looked up, she could see the new Professor had taken her position in front of the classroom. She was immediately alert, and straightened her back to look at her new teacher expectantly. "Welcome to your first lesson on EAAE, my lovely students. I am sure many of you already have a lot of questions for me, and I will be most pleased to answer all of them for you. The Ministry of Magic has finally recognized a need to provide guidance to students during such an emotionally challenging phase of your life."

Hermione nodded contemplatively. The idea of some sort of emotional education was actually a very good one, as many of the boys at Hogwarts had the emotional depth of a puddle and could surely use some help in understanding the girls around them. Still, she had the feeling that this would only be part of their new education, and she prepared herself to take detailed notes.

“Hem, hem, I am sure the most pressing question on your minds is the condition that is known as the ‘Open Link’. It is very rare among witches and wizards, and even though it provides the affected individual (which we will call OL from now on) with certain powers, it also comes with many risks and responsibilities. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that you keep a close eye on yourself and watch for any signs of emotional anomalies or sudden strong feelings of attachment that you might experience for other people.”

“You mean like love?” Ron’s voice asked uncomfortably from directly behind her, and the eyes of their teacher were immediately fixed on him.

“Your name is?” she asked in a clipped tone that implied that she wasn’t very fond of interruptions.

“Ron, Ron Weasley, ma’am.”

Dolores Umbridge cleared her throat. “Ah yes, Mr Weasley. This is indeed a very good question, but I would kindly ask you, from now on, to raise your hand if there is a question." She smiled and Hermione could only imagine that Ron nodded mutely behind her. "The sudden feelings you might encounter may indeed feel like love or infatuation, but what you are experiencing is your magic’s attempt to find a partner who can connect itself to. You see, usually a wizard's magic is locked in their magical core and cannot be touched or used by any other person, but this is not true in the case of an OL." The School Counsellor looked at them with a stern expression. “An OL’s magical core is anxious to attach itself to another person’s, and will be forced to do this at some point. You see, the core itself is not closed but rather experiences some sort of leak, which can lead to a slow drain of magical energy. As such, it is quite dangerous for the affected individual. This condition also makes their magic accessible to another person, and by connecting to it, the leak in the magical core can finally be closed. I think I don't need to tell you that it is important to choose the person for such a position very carefully."

At that, the class erupted in excited whispers and Hermione could at least see four hands raise into the air. Her hand was not among them. 

“And you are Miss…?”

"Lavender Brown, Professor," Lavender answered proudly before she continued. "The person you forge such a connection to must be a person you love, right? I am sure it must be pure, reciprocated love and nothing else, am I correct?" the girl said in a dreamy tone, ending her question with a sigh.

Professor Umbridge smiled kindly at her student, before she let her eyes roam through the class. “That is one way to form a connection, Ms Brown, but not the only way. Feelings of admiration, deep friendship, or the need to support somebody might be enough to form a link. This type of link may not be as strong as one that is formed by love, or even marriage, or … hem, hem… sexual interaction…” —at this, the class snickered— “but it might still be enough to grant an amount of emotional stability to our ‘Open Link’ and share its magical powers, if only temporarily.”

At that, more hands rose into the air.

“Does that mean that an OL could magically support whatever person he feels the desire to?” Seamus asked after giving his name to the Professor. The short woman nodded with a pleased smile on her face.

“This is correct, Mr Finnigan,” she said and awarded him five house points. “This is the reason the Open Link needs to be found as soon as possible. The Minister himself assures you that all necessary measures will be taken to provide security and a suitable Link-Partner for him or her.”

Hermione didn't like where this was going at all. Finally, she couldn't hold back any longer and raised her hand. Dolores Umbridge fixed her with interested eyes and a kind smile. "What's your name, dear?”

“My name is Hermione Granger, Professor. I was wondering if you are implying that the Ministry will want to choose a Partner for the Open Link? Why not let the person decide for themselves?”

Even though Dolores Umbridge’s smile stayed kind, something shifted in her eyes at Hermione’s words and she suddenly felt a shudder run through her body.

"Well, Miss Granger, the person we are talking about will most likely be an emotionally unstable teenager that will see the need to attach to whoever seems suitable for him or her. What kind of educated decision do you expect such a person to make? I must warn you, my dear children. sexual… hem, hem…  _ intercourse _ will, without doubt, create a permanent link between the OL and its partner, even though they might, at a later point, wish not to be connected to such a person any longer." Dolores Umbridge said these words with her nose wrinkled in a way that implied, that she found the idea of random or light-hearted sex absolutely despicable. Though Hermione was convinced that she wanted to wait for somebody special to engage in that kind of activity with, she knew very well that many of her classmates didn't object to having a bit of fun from time to time. 

She nodded thoughtfully before carefully saying: "That would be very regrettable, indeed. What about… I'm sorry, Professor, but … what about non-amicable intercourse?" she asked, feeling her cheeks tinge pink. Behind her, she heard Parvati gasp in shock, but she willed her eyes to be fixed at the Professor. For a moment it seemed that the corner of Dolores Umbridge’s eyes twitched at her words, but the encouraging smile didn’t leave the woman’s face.

"I can reassure you Miss Granger, in case of —how did you call it?—  _ non-amicable intercourse, _ no such connection will be formed. Do not worry yourself about it."

Hermione nodded and sighed in relief. That at least was good news. If one first had to build some kind of emotional connection, this hopefully reduced the danger of Voldemort raping one of her fellow students. Hermione was sure that such an act would not be beneath him if it would increase his power. How likely would it be that one of them formed an emotional attachment to the Dark Lord, though? In case that the Open Link was a Slytherin, this actually might be a possibility, but otherwise…

“Any other questions?” Dolores Umbridge’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. There were indeed many more questions, and Hermione, as did many of her classmates, soaked up every answer their Professor gave like a sponge.

ssssssssss

"Who do you think it is?" Harry asked her as they lounged together in the Gryffindor common room that evening. Her friend seemed to be in a strange mood since learning about the existence of the Open Link, and Hermione couldn’t really blame him for it. The thought alone that one of them could be turned into a powerful weapon for either side of the war was exciting and scary at the same time.

Hermione sighed and put her book aside. "I don't know Harry. I think at this point it could really be anyone– well, maybe not anyone. From what we learned, the Open Link is most likely still a virgin, as the link seemed to close as soon as you… you know." She looked at her friends with pink cheeks and they nodded at her awkwardly. "And that definitely rules some people out.”

The boys nodded awkwardly at her. “Are you still, I mean…” Harry looked at his friends with his cheeks completely red in embarrassment.

Ron snorted. “‘Course I am, I would have told you if something that exciting happened to me, mate,” he said, and clapped Harry on the back. Then the boy’s eyes turned towards her. “And you?” Harry asked, and seemed to hold his breath.

Hermione sighed. "What do you think, Harry? Of course I am. I might be a year older than you, but that doesn't mean that I…"

He held his hand up in defence. “Alright, alright. I didn’t want to imply anything, Hermione. I just wondered, because of you and Krum last year…”

She sighed. "Viktor and I are just friends Harry, nothing happened— well, not much…" she said, but Ron looked at her with wide eyes.

“Not much? What’s that supposed to mean?”

"That is really none of your business, Ronald," Hermione said sourly, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "What happened between Viktor and me is supposed to stay just there, between me and him."

Ron huffed annoyedly, but he let the topic go. Instead, he turned towards Harry and said: "Do you think it could be one of us? I mean, it’s possible right?”

Harry nodded with a frown. “I thought so, too. I mean, we seem to be the right age… just on the brink of adulthood. And as we are all still… you know…” he closed his mouth awkwardly.

“Well, I guess it’s possible. But I mean, did you feel any different in the last weeks? Professor Umbridge said there would be some kind of… emotionality involved. Have you felt something like that?”

Harry nodded darkly. “I’ve felt kind of strange recently… like always on edge. I feel like I’m angry a lot, like something is simmering, just below the surface. Does that make any sense? Do you think that could be it?”

Hermione sighed. "It could be, but I don't know. If you like, I could try to find more information in the library. Not, that I don't trust the Professor, but she's working for the Ministry, right? What if she’s only telling us what they want us to know? I imagine Fudge would be interested to have an OL supporting him."

Her friends nodded with wide eyes. "You're right, Hermione," Harry admitted, seeming even more unsettled. "It would totally make sense if they tell us just enough to make us afraid and run into their arms. We should definitely be careful."

They all nodded together, and just as Hermione thought the topic was closed, Harry said grimly: “With the luck I have, it’ll be me.” And Hermione couldn’t help but agree with him. It would definitely fit the picture.


	4. Hard evidence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is so much fun for me to write.

Within a matter of hours, this despicable ministry witch had managed to transform the whole castle into a madhouse. The Open Link was in everybody's mouth and when Severus had thought his task to be impossible before, it was even more so now. It would have been much easier to watch these moody teenagers under natural circumstances but now that they all seemed in some kind of frenzy, it was totally impossible to detect somebody who was falling out of line, because in a way, they all were. Suddenly half of the castle felt encouraged following their urges and indulging in heavy snogging sessions in various broom closets or in the middle of the hallways. And Severus Snape could only look at those idiots in disgust. Did none of them understand what it would mean to be discovered as an Open Link? Those dunderheads seemed to get the impression that it was all about being special and desired but actually all they would be, was used. And there was no saying what would happen if the Dark Lord ever got them into his spidery fingers. That was a fate he didn't wish on his worst enemy and definitely not on an unsuspecting teenager.  
That left the question: What fate did he wish for the Open Link? What would he do, if he finally found him or her? Should he try to win the person for himself? Could he even win somebody's affection or admiration in the first place? And what was the alternative? From what he knew, not only the Dark Lord was after the Open Link. Also, the Headmaster and the Ministry had cast a net to catch whoever was the unlucky bastard. And Severus Snape would bet his strong hand, that they were not the only ones out for prey.

++++++++

Hermione was not in a good mood. She had spent every free minute of her day and had tried to procure a book that would help them find out more about the Open Link. But when it was almost closing time she had to admit, that either all books were already taken or that there was no such book in the Hogwarts Library, to begin with. That meant they were lacking unbiased information on the topic which left them vulnerable to all falsehoods or half-truths that the Ministry decided to sprout. And that was a situation she didn't like at all.  
“There’s really nothing?” Harry mumbled as soon as they had retreated into their corner of the common room.   
“Nothing. There’s not a single book Harry” Hermione admitted in defeat “and believe me, I was thorough.”  
“Crap,” Ron mumbled and pulled his legs up to his chest. “But there needs to be something we can do, right Mione?”  
She sighed. “I don’t know Ron. Maybe we should give things a bit more time. I mean, Professor Umbridge told us how to recognize an Open Link in us. If there is some sort of … yearning or emotional uproar in us, then we're about to realize it sooner or later, don't you think?"   
He shrugged nonchalantly and stared at his knees but he didn’t say anything in return. And so Harry took the chance and asked: “How did the Ministry even realize that there’s something like an Open Link? Is there maybe some sort of artefact that can detect these sorts of anomalies? I mean, they are also somehow monitoring the trace in us. What if it is something similar?"   
Hermione chewed on her bottom lip and contemplated this. “That’s a very good question, Harry. Isn’t that something your dad might know about Ron? I mean, he’s working at the Ministry, maybe not in the right department but nonetheless…”  
Her friend shrugged again. “Dunno, but I guess it's worth a try. I could write to my parents and ask them if you want. I mean, the Weasleys are an old pureblood family, so maybe they do know something about it.”  
“That would be great!” Hermione explained and before she realized what she was doing, she threw her arms around his middle and hugged him fiercely. It was only a moment later that she contemplated her actions as she saw Ron staring down at her with wide eyes.   
“Yeah, uh…” he mumbled and Hermione could feel him stiffen next to her. She immediately let go of him but stared at him with furrowed brows. But she refrained commenting on his awkward behaviour. “I’ll just go upstairs and write a letter to them, shall I?” Ron said quickly and a moment later he already leapt from his spot on the floor. “See you tomorrow Mione, Harry.” He waved at them with an awkward smile and a moment later he was gone.   
Hermione and Harry stared at each other with wide eyes. "What was that?" she asked her friend and blinked in confusion but Harry just shrugged helplessly.  
“Honestly? I have no idea.”

++++++++

Ron Weasley had already been suspicious of these new feelings blooming in him for quite some time but all it took was a hug from Hermione and he finally realized that he was, in fact, the Open Link. He had barely made it out of the room until his emotions caught up with him and he threw himself on the bed with his heart beating wildly in his chest. But there was also another, very unmistakable physical evidence of his growing feelings and wild emotions and he could just hope that Hermione hadn’t realized what had just happened to… him. She was just Hermione for Merlin's sake, good old Hermione and she must have hugged him a dozen times before. So why was he suddenly feeling attached to her like this? He knew the answer of course. It was the Open Link in his magic that looked for a suitable partner to attach himself to. In a way, this came as a relief to him because honestly, it would have been kind of unsettling if he suddenly developed feelings for one of his best mates. No, Hermione was still nothing more than one of his best friends and nothing more. He would just have to reign in his marauding feelings in her presence a bit. There were enough witches that would consider themselves more than happy if he would attach himself to them, which left enough choice for him to found a suitable partner. This just left the question if he should tell his friends about his new discovery. Would they even believe him? He was only ordinary, boring Ron Weasley after all. Never in his life, he had been anything special, not until now.  
No, he decided, he would wait and see how these growing powers evolved in him. And then, when he had collected enough evidence that he was, in fact, the chosen one, he would tell them. And Harry and Hermione would have no other possibility then to realize, that he, Ron Weasley, was indeed special.   
Now that he finally knew what he was looking for, he easily detected these chaotic feelings within himself. He didn't even make it halfway through breakfast the next morning until his eyes caught sight of a sweet blonde Hufflepuff girl that he hadn’t even taken notice off until now. But suddenly he felt this pull in his chest again and he had to force himself to stay seated and outwardly calm. Because inwardly he was burning and under his voluminous school robes there was the ever-growing evidence of his new awakened emotions. And this realisation scared and excited him at the same time. If Hermione was right, which she usually was, then not only the ministry but also You-Know-Who himself would be on his heels. He really needed to prepare himself for that. So maybe it was time to pay a bit more attention in class. It would be the best possibility to test his new awakened powers too.   
“Today you will learn the Nox Maxima spell,” Professor Flitwick announced in his usual squeaky voice. “As the name says, it is the opposite of Lumos Maxima and will enable you to darken a whole room or even a larger area, if you are powerful enough. Combined with a night-vision spell, which we will learn soon after, it is a valuable skill to have in a fight, this much I can promise you." The small Professor looked at them with a good-natured expression. "The spell is quite difficult to master though but it is definitely worth the effort.”  
Ron agreed. This was his chance to learn a spell that would help him to defend himself. He had no doubts that his new awakened magical powers would help him to master the spell, for him it was just a matter of getting all the instructions and me made damn sure he did. And he was promptly rewarded.  
“Mr Weasley! Very good!” Flitwick praised him as he covered the room in darkness at his first attempt to master the spell. He couldn't see the reactions of the students surrounding him but he imagined that Hermione gaped at him with an open mouth. "That was quite an extraordinary feat of magic, Mr Weasley. Ten points to Gryffindor," Professor Flitwick said with a wide smile after he cancelled Ron's spell. Ron looked into the room with his chest puffed in pride. The spell practice continued soon after. Hermione was only able to master the spell on her third attempt and even though that also earned her five house-points, Ron had proven once more that he was indeed the chosen one.

+++++++++

"Look who's there, our new favourite Prefect," Fred said loudly as the small figure of Hermione Granger appeared in the hallway in front of them. Their first days in school had indeed been unexpectedly exciting with all this talk about the Open Link. The place had been in a delightful amount of chaos without them putting any effort into it. In a way, it was kind of like being on holidays.   
Hermione stopped in her tracks and turned around towards them. “Fred, George,” she said neutrally and nodded as a greeting. But Fred could help but get the impression, that she seemed kind of distracted.   
"How is our little brother treating you?" George asked and casually slung an arm around her shoulder. "I bet you're seeing even more of him now that you're both on prefect-duty."   
“We’re not doing any patrols together, so I’m not actually seeing him that much more often,” Hermione answered matter-of-factly and started walking again. Fred nodded with a grin and fell into step with her and his twin. “And even though I don’t know what you’re implying.”  
The stiffening of her posture showed that she was lying and Fred said: “Well, it seems like our little Ronnekins seems to have discovered the joys of manhood.”  
George snorted. “Yeah, he’s been behaving rather strange lately. Thought you’d noticed.”  
The witch in their middle sighed. "He's behaved like this ever since our first day at school. I'm not exactly sure what's wrong with him, but he's kind of been avoiding to be alone with me ever since and when he talks to me he, seems kind of… stiff."  
“In more ways than one I imagine," George whispered through their twin link and Fred couldn't suppress the wide grin that spread on his face.  
“Don’t worry Hermione, I’m sure it’s just a phase,” Fred said and smiled encouragingly. “He’ll come around. Boys can be like that sometimes but it’s nothing to be worried about.”  
Their friend hummed thoughtfully and after a moment she nodded with a smile. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Not that I have any experience in that department." At that, her cheeks blushed prettily and Fred grinned.  
"Of course we're right, you'll see," he said and winked at her. The smile that bloomed on her face at his words let his heart make an excited little jump in his chest. How very curious.

++++++++

Hermione really needed to get a grip on her feelings and soon. Ever since this fateful day at the pool, her head was going crazy with thoughts that had nothing to do with schoolwork. Fred and George appeared in her mind at least once during each of her lessons, no matter if it was Transfiguration or History of Magic. Her mind replayed every encounter she had with them during the last weeks and meeting them in the corridors while having George's arm draped around her shoulder hadn't really helped matters – at all. And it was just so humiliating having all these feelings without even wanting to have them at all.   
Her mum was probably right that she was a late bloomer but as it seemed her body had finally decided to enter puberty and dive right into it. Suddenly she understood how Lavender and the other girls had been so insufferable over the last years. If they had been in this rollercoaster of feelings for the last years, then Hermione really felt sorry for them. She felt like she was slowly going mad after only a few weeks of these feelings and she really didn't want to imagine what would happen to her, if things got even worse.   
“Today we are going to brew the Draught of Insight,” Snape’s deep baritone stated in front of the classroom and Hermione snapped out of her thoughts. “Can anyone of you tell me, what it is used for?”  
Hermione knew the answer of course, as she had thoroughly prepared herself for all of her lessons today. She raised her hand, as usual, and as usual, she was ignored by the sour-looking man in front of her. She closed her eyes in annoyance and took a deep breath to calm herself down.  
"As usual you don't come prepared for your lessons. This talk of the Open Link seems to have gone to your heads even more than last year's excitement. How very disappointing.” Professor Snape sighed before he finally fixed her with his eyes. "Miss Granger? Tell these dunderheads what you so eagerly memorized from the book, but in your own words, if you please.”  
Hermione nodded. "The Draught of Insight can be taken to find the answer to one's most pressing question. The answer, however, must be buried within the person itself, as the potion can only provide insight and not sight or wisdom in general."  
The Professor nodded with a sigh before he started to walk to the classroom. “Good enough. In former days the Draught of Insight was also called the self-discovery potion as it as usually taken by people, who got confused by their feelings. As a similar confusion seems to have befallen this school” Snape wrinkled his nose as if there was a bad smell in the air "I thought it appropriate to provide you with the means to give you the answer, some of you so desperately seem to seek."   
At that, excited whispers broke out in class and Hermione felt a flutter of excitement herself. This potion could indeed be what she, Ron and Harry needed to find out, if any one of them was, in fact, the Open Link.   
“The instructions for the potion can be found in your books on page 13. I strongly recommend reading them very carefully as already minor mistakes can lead to quite unpleasant consequences.” At that Snape paused in front of Neville’s table and looked at the mortified boy with a dark expression. “Those of you, who find their potion adequate enough, will be allowed to try it at the end of class – at their own risk of course.” Hermione couldn't help but note the unpleasant smile that seemed to grace his lips at those words. She was pretty sure that not many of them would be able to brew an adequate potion but it was totally like Snape to rub the fact into their faces. “You may begin.”   
Immediately the room leapt into action and Hermione could see that almost everyone started to read the instructions in the book with utmost concentration. Well, Snape certainly knew how to motivate his students. That much at least was certain. 

++++++++

The plan was simple enough, Severus thought, as he watched those dunderheads attempt to brew an actually drinkable version of the potion he had assigned them for today. He was sure that only a few of them would be able to produce something adequate during the lesson, but with a bit of luck at least the Granger girl and some others would be among them. He had no doubts that the nosy Know-it-all would do anything in her power to prove her superiority to him and to the rest of the class and if things went according to plan, some others would follow her example. All it would need was a bit of low-key Occlumancy to scan some of those kids and if fate smiled down at him, he would soon have his answer concerning the Open Link. And even if this part of the plan didn't work, the school would still hopefully have a few agitated and over-reacting teenagers less. Because only one of them could be the Open Link and every student who realized that it was not him, was a blessing for Severus' poor nerves. Wasn't that actually a reason to teach this potion in all of his classes this week?

++++++++

Hermione could feel Professor Snape’s eyes on her during the lesson. It was quite common that the man kept a close eye on all of his students though as Potions was one of their more dangerous school subjects and mistakes could be made very easily. Still, Hermione felt like he was watching her more carefully than usual and she couldn’t ignore the uneasy feeling that spread in her belly at the realization. From their time at Grimmauld Place she knew, that the man was working as a spy for the Order, and even if Hermione trusted Dumbledore and his judgement, she couldn't help but ask herself, why he made them brew this exact potion today. Hermione read through the year's curriculum and therefore knew that the Draught of Insight would have only been due in the second half of the term. Was it only to provide them with the means to find an answer for themselves? Or was there more behind it? Because Severus Snape was a Slytherin at heart and she could very well imagine that he wasn’t simply trying to be nice and helpful towards them but had an ulterior motive. But it wasn’t like the man could read her thoughts, right?  
The minutes flew by and Hermione banned her musings to the back of her head. She would need all her concentration to finish this challenging potion and get the desired results. But every time she looked up, she could see the dark eyes of Professor Snape resting on her and the uneasy feeling in her stomach grew. Why was he looking at her like that? Did she do something? Maybe it was her slicing technique or did she accidentally stir the potion into the wrong direction? No, she couldn't lose her nerves just now. Just half an hour more and then she'd take the time to think about her possible mistakes.  
“Alright, time is up,” Professor Snape called into the classroom and Hermione sunk back in her chair with a relieved sigh. Her potion was perfect, she was almost sure of it, which gave her the chance to finally relax.   
“Bottle your potions up and put them on my desk. Those of you who are willing to try their own creation may line up in front of the class.”  
Hermione thought for a moment before she grabbed two small vials and bottled the potion carefully. From the corner of her eye, she could see several students trailing towards Professor Snape's desk to hand in their potions. And just as she was about to get up, her eyes landed on Ron and his definitely ruined potion.  
“Mione? Could you… would you… would you give me your potion to test it for you? I don't want to hand it in with Snape, I don’t mind getting a bad grade. But in the last days I just had this … feeling… and I need to know.”  
He looked at her with his huge, blue puppy eyes and Hermione couldn’t help but sigh. She had actually planned on using the potion for herself but Ron was her friend and he clearly looked desperate.   
"I… alright, you can have it," she said with a sigh and handed one of her vials over to him as inconspicuous as possible. Then she quickly marched to Snape's desk and handed him the other one with a neutral expression.  
“Miss Granger, I assumed that you were one of the students willing to sample your potion. But I see you’ve only brought one phial of your potion.” He looked at her with dark contemplating eyes but Hermione willed her expression to stay as calm as possible.  
"No thank you, Professor. There's no particular question on my mind at the moment, so it would be totally wasted on me." She put on a smile and after the man stared at her for another moment, she turned around and went back to her seat. In the meantime, a short row of five students had formed in the front of the classroom. Besides Ron also Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson, Theodore Nott and Parvati Patil had decided to test their potions and Hermione watched with a heavy heart as one after the other nodded and downed the contents of their phial. But apart from a grimace on everybody’s but Malfoys face and a moment of trance afterwards there was not much to see for her. The Slytherin’s expressions stayed totally neutral when their eyes lost their glassy look, but Parvati sighed and sniffed dramatically as she made her way back to her seat. Ron looked … contemplative but for once Hermione really couldn’t tell what he was thinking. And that made her more uncomfortable than she wanted to admit to herself.


	5. Friends and allies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, my lovely readers, I hope you like the story so far. I just edited this chapter, because I decided to give our dear Dolores some background It really gives me pleasure writing her, even though she's one of the characters from the original books I hate the most. Does that make sense?

Fred and George had their first lesson in defence on Wednesday. Even though they had only chosen a handful of NEWT classes, it was out of the question that they would sign up for another year of DAAD, as this was one of the topics they could really use in the future. Now that the class would be even taught by the Headmaster himself, they were even more grateful for the decision. George had always known that the man was a skilled wizard but apart from that, he was also a brilliant teacher. Dumbledore seemed to have an eye for their weaknesses and strengths and paired them up in a way that made training duels exciting but not frustrating to any of them. And he showed them many interesting spells that weren't only extremely useful, but easy enough to cast. George was excited in a way he had never been for a school subject before and he had the strong resolution to use his time in class for learning as much as he could. Because one day his life would maybe depend on it and that was a good enough reason for him to actually make an effort for once.  
“Mess’rs Weasley?” He and Fred were just about to leave the classroom after the lesson was finished when the Headmaster's voice called after them. "Would you mind staying behind for a moment? I'd like to have a word if you don't mind."   
George looked at his brother with raised brows, but Fred just shrugged unconcernedly and turned around. “What can we do for you, Headmaster? If this is about the rumours circulating about…”  
But the old man silenced them with a raise of his hand. “No, no, nothing like that, even though I am sure that those rumours are pretty entertaining, I am sure… In fact, I would like to ask you for a small favour.” Dumbledore smiled at them and gestured towards a set of chairs that appeared in front of his teacher’s desk. “But we should probably sit down for that bit of conversation. Lemon Drop?” Like on command a little bowl with Lemon Drops appeared on the desk and with a shrug Fred and George sat down and each popped one of the delicious sweets into their mouths. The Headmaster looked at them with pleased twinkling eyes and sat down behind a desk. A moment later he raised his wand and George felt heavy wards snap into place. Curious.  
“It has come to my attention that the two of you applied to join the Order,” Dumbledore finally said and watched them with attentive blue eyes. “Usually these kinds of applications are postponed until after graduation but I am willing to make an exception in your case."  
Fred and George looked at each other with a wide smile. “Brilliant!” they said and beamed at the man in front of them.   
“Ah, the enthusiasm of youth,” Dumbledore said with a chuckle. “But maybe this is exactly what we need.”   
George nodded but didn’t interrupt the wizard. And so the old man just took a Lemon Drop for himself and said: “I have heard that the two of you have earned yourself somewhat of a reputation amongst your peers. Most of the students seem to like you or at least respect your skills, which puts you in the optimal position to be the Orders eyes and ears in the castle. I am sure you already realized that the Ministry is highly interested in finding the Open Link among your peers. Minister Fudge is already counting his blessings and sees it as a given that he soon has an Open Link at his disposal. But as you might imagine, he is not the only one.”  
George knew what the Headmaster was saying and by the feeling of it, Fred did too. "What is it you want us to do exactly?" His brother asked nonchalantly with his hands folded behind his head. The Headmaster cast him a grandfatherly smile.  
“I hope that you will agree to look out for the Open Link. We need to find him or her, before the Ministry or Voldemort’s lackey’s do.”  
George nodded. It did make sense. “What will you do, if we found the person?”  
"Well, this strongly depends on who it is and whether he would be willing to cooperate with the Order, don't you think?" the Headmaster replied with a twinkle in his eyes.  
“Yeah, that makes sense,” he admitted and looked at Fred thoughtfully. “What do you think Freddy?”  
Hi, brother shrugged with a crooked grin. "I think we can definitely do better than our new School Counsellor. But it would probably help to have as much information on the poor sod's condition as we can get. What exactly should be looking out for?"  
The Headmaster regarded them with blue, twinkling eyes and a pleased smile. And then, he told them.

++++++++

Hermione didn't get the chance to speak to Ron for the rest of the day. Potions had been their last class for the day and after that, her friend seemed to have disappeared mysteriously. He probably needed some time to digest whatever the potion had shown him, Hermione thought, and after a moment of hesitation, she decided to leave him alone. If he really was the Open Link, she was sure he'd let her know soon enough.  
“Fred? George? Are you alright?” Hermione asked as soon as she saw the two redheads lounge in the corridor. Both of them had unfastened their ties and looked at the passing students with something like vigilance. “Are you looking for somebody?”  
Ron's brothers immediately snapped out of their staring and looked at her with a smile plastered on their faces. "Oi, Hermione. What's up with your classmates? They seem even more agitated than in the last days. And that's really saying something." Fred grinned crookedly but Hermione couldn’t help but sigh.  
“Snape had us brew the Draught of Insight,” she said and studied their reaction. But the twins just looked at her mutely and waited for her to continue. "It's supposed to give you the answer to a question if the answer can be found in yourself."  
George shrugged. "I remember the potion. We brewed it late in our fifth year I think."  
Hermione nodded. “Yeah, you see? The potion can provide the answer, whether one is, for example, the Open Link everybody seems to look out for. At the end of the lesson, Snape even gave us the possibility to sample our own potion, if we trusted our skills enough.”  
For a moment none of the twins said a word and just blinked at her. But finally, a wide smile spread on their faces.   
“And? Did you try yours?” Fred asked and put his arm amicably around her shoulder. She felt her pulse rise.  
"I… no… I actually gave my potion to Ron. He asked me for it, you know? He's been quite strange in the last days as you know and he… he just seemed so desperate... I simply couldn't say no."  
Both redheads nodded in unison while looking at her with brown eyes that were full of understanding. Hermione was sure her heart missed a beat at that sight. What would happen if she just leant over to George and… Merlin! She really had to get a grip on herself.   
“Well, that definitely explained why everybody seems so agitated. What happened? Any insights that were worth sharing?”  
She shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know. The Slytherins were totally poker-faced and Parvati seemed kind of upset. As for Ron… he simply disappeared on me, which is kind of annoying, to be honest. But maybe he needs to sort things out first, who knows?"   
Fred snorted. “I’m sure he’s alright, don’t worry. He’s lucky to have a friend like you, you know?”  
Hermione looked at him in confusion. “Errr… thank you?”  
George smiled and tapped her nose with his index finger. “Don’t look so surprised, it’s true. Maybe he doesn’t realize how often you saved his sorry arse, not only when it comes to homework, but we do. You’re brilliant Hermione, brilliant and loyal and we’re happy you’re keeping an eye on him.”  
She smiled shyly at them. "I hope you realise that I am your friend, too. We might not be as close as I am with Harry or Ron, but if there's anything you need my help with, don't hesitate to ask.” Hermione felt her cheeks go pink at these words and she hastily stepped away from Fred. “Sorry, I’m sure this sounded totally stupid. I should probably…”  
But she didn’t get any further as George simply pulled her close and kissed her on the cheek. “Nonsense, Hermione. I’m happy to call you my friend. And if you ever need our expertise,” he grinned at her boyishly. “then we’re at your service.” Fred continued for his brother and bowed.   
Hermione blinked at the both of them with wide eyes and for a moment she was completely dumbfounded. “Uh… thank you… that’s...”  
The twins grinned before we stepped away from her. “The least we can do.” Fred winked at her. “But we must be off now. See you later Hermione!”   
“Yeah,” Hermione said weakly and waved her hand. But just when they were out of sight, her hand stilled and touched her cheek instead. And she could have sworn that her skin still prickled, where George's lips had kissed her.

++++++++

Dolores Umbridge was not in a good mood when she reached her new Office that was right next to the classrooms that were provided for her weekly lessons with the Hogwarts students. She had decorated the place tastefully in light pink and beige, which were her favourite colours since she was a little girl and a variety of decorated plates that she had selected from the huge collection she had at home. Collecting porcelain plates that were decorated with enchanted cats was the only hobby that had survived her transition into adulthood. But even though she had to give up most of her favourite leisure activities, when she started working for the Minister full time, she never regretted the decision to start working for the man. Cornelius Fudge was a man to be admired, he had goals and ambition and the guts to do, what was necessary to achieve them. And ever since Dolores was a little girl, who had just been sorted into Hufflepuff, but been bullied for her sturdy stature and her taste for colourful hair attire anyway, she had promised herself, that she would one day just be like that. One day she would rise above all others and then she would be the one making the rules. And nobody would be in the position to make fun of her and her love of cats again.   
Now, that she had an important position at Hogwarts this goal was closer than ever before. Dolores had been more than happy when the Minister asked her to be his eyes and ears in the prestigious school and he had been pleased with her willingness to be of service to him again. She had promised the Minister results soon because how difficult could it be to find one particularly emotional teenager in a school? This Open Link had to leave some sort of signs, force out some reactions sooner or later, because Dolores knew, that the urge to connect to somebody else would get only stronger with time. All she had to do was wait and watch and the answer would present itself with time - only that those insufferable teenagers kept acting out and doing disgusting things to each other in the middle of the hallways. She couldn’t understand how the Headmaster and the other Hogwarts staff failed to bring back order into the castle because the things she witnessed there were simply unmentionable. It wasn't only that with this sort of randy behaviour finding the OL would be nearly impossible, but there was also a huge risk that said person would involve itself with somebody and form a connection that was possibly irreversible and therefore sabotaged the plans the Minister had so carefully made. That simply must not happen, Dolores decided, but therefore she had to react soon. She had to gather the control over that castle and its inhabitants or otherwise, all her carefully laid out plans would go to waste. But that was simply not an option. She had to write to the Minister, immediately. And then it remained to be seen if she couldn't get those brazen brats under control. She was Dolores Umbridge after all, the person Cornelius Fudge trusted the most, and there wasn’t much she wouldn’t do to not disappoint the Minister of Magic. 

++++++++

The next day found Hermione grumpy and tired. Her night hadn't been restful at all. As soon as her head hit the pillow, it had started going over her last encounter with the Weasley twins in agonizing detail and by now he was sure, that she could recall every small detail for each of the redhead's faces. Why was she suddenly so obsessed with them? Her mother had warned her, that entering puberty would mean a lot of pining and heartbreak. But she really hadn't been prepared for the ridiculousness of it all. It was one thing to pine after a certain boy, but having a crush on two boys at the same time? What was wrong with her? It was like her body couldn’t tell them appart, which was ridiculous, because Hermione could always tell them appart, even when she was only a first year. So this couldn’t be it, not really. No matter what it was, she couldn’t go on like this. Hermione absolutely refused to make an idiot out of herself and fall victim to her over-excited hormones. Fred and George Weasley were not an option as a boyfriend, not if she couldn’t even decide between the two of them. And Merlin, what would Ron say, when he heard about her stupid crush? She shuddered. This thought alone was enough to ban all thoughts of possible romantic excitement with the Weasleys into the back of her head. Now Hermione could only hope that they would stay just there.  
She went through all her classes like on autopilot. It wasn't like her eyes wanted to fall close or something, but it was definitely hard for her to get excited about any particular subject at all. Usually, she raised her hand in class as much as possible, but today she simply could not find enough energy to do it. She quietly took some notes and tried the spells that were shown to them, but that was it. And her teachers noticed that much she could tell.  
When evening finally rolled around the corner, she was ready to just hide in her bed and not crawl out until morning, but when she entered the common room, Ron and Harry were already waiting for her.  
"Hermione, there you are!" Ron said and shuffled his feet. "Can we talk – the three of us I mean?"  
Hermione sighed tiredly before she plastered a smile on her face. "Sure. Should we sit down on one of the sofas?"  
But Ron shook his head and started moving towards the portrait hole. “No, not here. Let’s find an empty classroom or something. I’d really don’t fancy being overheard for that discussion.”  
Hermione looked at the boys with furrowed brows. But Harry just shrugged and followed his red-haired friend and after a moment of hesitation, she did the same.  
“Alright boys,” Hermione said as soon as they had found an empty classroom on the fifth floor. "Can you tell me now, what this is all about?" she realized how grumpy and tired her voice sounded, but luckily the boys didn't seem to mind.  
“It’s about the Open Link,” Ron said and sat down on one of the tables. There he dangled his feet in the air and looked at them with an uneasy expression. Hermione nodded and decided to lean against the table in front of him. There she waited patiently for him to continue his story. Harry who watched the two of them for a moment decided to sit down next to his redheaded friend on the table.   
“The Open Link?” he asked and looked at his friend with an excited smile. “Could you find out who it is? Or… Merlin… is it you?”  
Ron studied their faces with a careful expression before he sighed and said: "I thought it was me, but obviously I was wrong. You know, the last days have been so strange, suddenly all my feeling were so intensive and I felt this pull towards… well… towards several girls actually. It's like I didn't have control over my feelings any longer and so I thought…" He lowered his head with another sigh and never before in her live Hermione could understand him so completely. Because what her friend just described really sounded like the exact same problem she was experiencing on her own.  
“You thought you were the OL,” she finished his sentence and looked at his bowed figure with empathy.   
“Yeah. It wasn’t just these sudden feelings,” Ron explained further “but I also seemed to be more skilled with spell-casting all of a sudden. Do you remember Flitwick’s lesson on Nox Maxima? I was the first one to master the spell and that never happened before.”  
“Huh,” Harry said and looked at his friend with furrowed brows. “That’s indeed strange. But it’s not you?”  
Ron shook his head. "No, at least that's what Hermione's potion said. You're sure you did it right Hermione?"  
For a moment she wanted to be offended, but that really wouldn't have been fair. "Yeah, I'm sure Ron. The recipe was pretty straight forward and therefore easy enough to make. But we could wait until we get our grades in the next Potions lesson if you want to make sure."  
The boy shrugged. “No, I guess it’s alright. It’s just… I really thought that I was finally something special. My whole life I’ve just been stupid, poor Ronald Weasley and it’s just… suddenly I felt special like I had all these powers inside me… but now I don’t.” He hung his head and Hermione really felt sorry for him.   
"Ron…" she said before she stepped closer and put her hand on his shoulder. "But you are special, don't you see? Even if you are not this Open Link, you still managed this spell with Flitwick, not because you have special powers, but because you finally believed in yourself and actually made an effort. It's what I told you all along. If you just try and believe in yourself, then you are far more capable, then you give yourself credit for."  
Ron looked up at her with wide eyes, before he blinked a few times and said: “You think I’m brilliant? Really?”  
She huffed before she stepped closer and pulled him into a hug. “Absolutely. And it’s time for you to think that, too.” Ron nodded with his head on her shoulder and after a moment of stiffness, he finally relaxed into her embrace. They stayed like this for a moment and when she finally pulled back, Ron looked at her with red ears.  
"But, what about those awkward feelings I have all the time? It's really confusing, you know? I mean, from time to time I even started to fancy you, Hermione, can you imagine?" Harry looked at both of them with wide eyes and for a moment, she just stared at the boys in total speechlessness. But finally, she huffed and said: "Well Ronald, I don't understand why this seems so ridiculous to you. Last year you realized that I am a girl after all." She knew that her tone sounded sour and probably hurt, but she really couldn't help but be offended at his words. But Ron just stared at her with furrowed brows, like he was trying to solve an exceptionally difficult puzzle.  
“Why are you suddenly angry Hermione? I mean Merlin, don’t you see how weird this would be? Dating you would be almost like I would try to date Ginny. You’re almost like a sister to me!”  
For a moment she just looked at him in stunned silence, before all the anger suddenly deflated. "Yeah, you're probably right. We are kind of like siblings, aren't we?" She looked at Ron and Harry with raised eyebrows and both of them nodded while looking somewhat relieved. "Well, maybe these feelings you start to have are just puberty, Ron. It also happens to me lately… like a lot. It’s totally weird and absolutely annoying.”   
It was probably the wrong thing to say because suddenly both of the boys looked at her with wide eyes and flushed cheeks. Ron even opened and closed his mouth like a fish several times, before he cleared his throat and said hoarsely: "Really? You… you… huh. Well, maybe it’s really just a normal thing for somebody our age. It’s just… these feelings sometimes get a bit much, you know?”   
Hermione snorted before she nodded with a smile. "Oh, believe me, I know."

++++++++


	6. Brotherly Competition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally found a new beta for this story. I am so happy. Now I could finally update this chapter, thanks to my friend Multilingualism. 

It wasn’t long until Quidditch tryouts for the term started and with Oliver Wood gone, Angelina Johnson had taken over as captain of their Quidditch team. Fred didn’t mind at all as Angelina was a very skilled chaser and had the temperament and determination for the job. No longer having Wood as a keeper though was a blow he wasn’t sure their team would be able to easily overcome. Because the candidates that presented themselves for the job were… not what Fred would have wished for. There were Vicky Frobisher, who was an overachiever in class, but only mediocre in Quidditch and Geoffrey Hooper who was a sissy. Well and then there was Ron… Fred knew his brother's flying skills as they had played with him often enough. He was a passable keeper to be fair, but his temperament was in constant shift and it wasn't rare that the boy stood in his own way. And that really wasn't something they could use during a challenging match when there was a lot of pressure on them. 

Fred looked down the breakfast table and there Ron was, sitting next to his two best friends. Hermione finally seemed in a better mood than during the last days. The dark circles under her eyes were no longer as prominent as they had been during the last week and the smile had apparently found its way back on her face.

“You’ll be fine, Ron, don’t worry,” the little witch just said and patted his brother’s arm. And even though Fred could feel the nervousness radiating from his brother, he also felt an unexplainable twitch at the observation. 

"Yeah, mate. You're a good keeper," Harry encouraged his friend and clapped his back. “I know you can do it, just don’t lose your nerve.”

Fred saw his little brother snort. “That’s easier said than done. I’m not nearly as good as Wood was, there’s no use telling me otherwise.”

At that, Hermione huffed before she said in a low voice: “Stop comparing yourself to others, Ron. It doesn’t matter what a keeper Oliver Wood was. Even if he was good, Ron, you need to remember how much you can do, when you simply believe in yourself. Remember what I told you a few days ago, you’re special, even without… well, you know.”

“Special, huh?” Fred thought and snapped his attention back to his own breakfast and his classmates surrounding him. Well, it was only a matter of time before Ron and Hermione got things going and by the sound of it, they had finally realized what he and George had expected all along. So why was he suddenly feeling so grumpy now? It wasn’t like he had wanted the witch for himself, right? And if Hermione kept his brother happy enough to not lose his nerves during a game of Quidditch then that was really all that he could have hoped for. With that realization, he pushed his half-full plate away and got up from his seat. Breakfast wasn't over yet, but Fred would use the spare time to get changed into his Quidditch gear and fly some rounds to get warmed up. His hunger had somehow disappeared anyway and he really felt like he could use some more fresh air. These rooms were getting more and more stifling by the day.

sssssssss

“What’s wrong Freddy?” George asked his brother as they were just heading back from another round of Quidditch practice. Their little brother had really made it into the team and even though George had been sceptical at first, Ron was doing rather well. Yes, he wasn’t an Oliver Wood, but Ron was at least as good as the keepers the other teams had, if not better. And that was more than they could have hoped for. But that made Fred’s behaviour in the last days even stranger. Ever since the day of Quidditch tryouts, his twin was in some kind of mood and that wasn't typical for him at all.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Fred grumbled in return and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his robes. “I’m just thinking, that’s all.”

George wasn’t buying it but he knew better than to point this out to his twin. “Thinking about what?” he asked instead.

Fred didn’t answer him for a few seconds but kept striding back to the castle at a pace that George could barely keep up with, without breaking out into a slow run. If there had been any question that his twin was agitated, which was not the case as Fred's feelings of confusion kept bleeding through the twin-bond then the answer was clear now. George kept pace with him for a while, until he grabbed his brother's arm and pulled him into an abrupt halt. "Stop it, Fred, just talk to me," he said and looked at his twin with pleading eyes. And finally, Fred turned around to him and looked at him with a huff. "It’s about Ron,” he finally admitted while using his foot to play with the grass in front of him. “He and Hermione are obviously an item now.”

George looked at his brother with furrowed brows. Slowly it dawned him what had gotten him so riled up. “And that bothers you? How did you get the idea anyway? Did you catch them snogging or did Ronnie brag in front of you?”

Fred huffed and kicked into the ground. “No, nothing like that. I overheard them during breakfast one morning. Hermione went on about how  _ special _ Ron was. Kind of made me lose my appetite.”

George sighed. “Well, that will make things a bit complicated, indeed. I didn’t expect you had a thing for her, too.”

Fred looked at him with widened eyes. “What do you mean with… don’t tell me… Merlin, George, you too?”

He shrugged and grinned helplessly. “It’s kind of a recent thing and maybe it will go away after a while. It’s just that she constantly seems to be on my mind and…”

“Yeah,” Fred agreed and nodded miserably. “I know the feeling.”

They stared at each other for a long while and even though none of them said a word, they could feel the other ones feeling seeping through the twin-bond. It was kind of a reassuring feeling to know that Fred didn’t seem to be mad at him but seemed to understand his feelings.

"Well, Georgie, what do you want to do now?" Fred finally said and looked at him with a lost expression. George sighed and cast him a smile that could only be understood between the two of them.

"Well Freddie, first of all, we are going to find out if Ronnekins really got so lucky and secured our girl. If he did, I’m pretty sure he’ll muck it up sooner or later. It’s like he can’t help it being a self-centred prick or something.”

Fred nodded contemplatively. "And if he didn't get the girl? What then? Because I really don't fancy a fight between us."

George sighed. “I guess each of us will just do his best and if we’re lucky she decides for one of us. Let’s just agree that the other one doesn’t get cross afterwards. I don’t want this thing standing between us.”

“Me neither,” Fred agreed and clasped his arm. For a moment they just looked in each other’s eyes and let the feelings of reassurance and understanding seep back and forth through the bond. Only after George got the feeling that there wasn’t anything left between them to say and feel he pulled away with a smile.

"Well, Freddy. Shall we try to find our little brother? I feel like we should have a brotherly talk to him."

Fred grinned. “Absolutely George, absolutely.”

ssssssssss

They found their little brother in the Gryffindor common room where he had obviously convinced Harry to play a game of wizard chess with him. Ron was winning, of course, but Harry didn’t seem to mind – much. Hermione had retreated into one of the plush armchairs at the fire, where she hid behind her Transfiguration class book and seemed completely oblivious to the stuff going on around her – perfect.

"Oi, Ron, Harry," Fred greeted the two friends casually and stepped closer like he wanted to inspect the chessboard in front of them. Harry's king was in quite a precarious situation and George gave him two more rounds until he went checkmate. "Mind if we join you for a bit? We heard this juicy bit of gossip concerning our little brother here and it's just too good to not tease him about it."

Ron’s head immediately snapped up. “Gossip? Concerning me?" He looked at them with an alarmed expression. "If this is about this Open-Link business then you can sod off right away. It's not me." George looked at him with a raised brow. That was indeed an interesting bit of information and therefore another person they could cross off their list of potential candidates. They had been able to narrow their search down to 39 people already, which they were actually quite proud of. It really wasn't easy to snoop out  _ that  _ kind of details about somebody whom they weren't directly friends with.

Fred snorted. "That's actually not what this is about. We heard you managed to snag yourself a girlfriend." He waggled his brows suggestively and Ron's colour immediately changed to something that reminded him of a raspberry.

“A girlfriend?” their little brother squeaked and looked at them with wide eyes. “Who?”

“Why, our lovely Hermione of course,” George said as casually as possible and studied Ron’s reaction. His brother scrunched his face in something like disgust.

“No!” he protested loudly, which made people around them look at him with interest. “That’s absurd!” But Harry tried to shush him while looking around with a panicked expression. It only took a moment for Ron to deflate and his whole posture sagged together on his chair.

“So it isn’t true?” Fred asked and George found that he maybe sounded a bit too happy for his liking. But Ron and Harry didn’t seem to find anything amiss and shook their heads in unison.

“Of course not! Merlin, Hermione is like a  _ sister _ to me and just the thought of…” Ron scrunched his face even further and he looked like he had just taken a juicy bite out of a lemon. “It would just be  _ wrong _ , you know?”

George looked at him for a long moment but couldn't reply as the thoughts started swirling around in his head. Would it be wrong to woo her? Because actually, she wasn't their sister, even though she might very well regard them as family. Bloody hell. That would make things for him even more difficult for them.

Fred shrugged. “Not really, no. But luckily I don’t have to. Well, I guess we’ll be off then, as there doesn’t seem anything we can tease our little brother about.” Fred grinned boyishly and George could tell that his twin-brother already felt lighter in his heart. Ron seemed to be out of the game when it came to Hermione, so now it was only the two of them. But that would be hard enough.

ssssssssss

Dolores Umbridge, High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, didn't that have a nice ring to it? It had taken her some letters with detailed descriptions of the non-acceptable circumstances at Hogwarts, but finally, the Minister had agreed that the current environment was not a suitable environment for their future fosterling. Therefore Dolores was from now on tasked to take matters into her own, capable hands and her new position as High Inquisitor gave her the necessary power to make suitable changes at the school. She would have to establish certain rules to improve the children's behaviour when they were outside of their classes. Only after a week of school the hallways had almost morphed into something resembling a hotbed of sin, with females and males alike indulging in shameless kisses or other very inappropriate activities. This lack of propriety was, without doubt, to be ascribed to the new Headmaster of the school as such behaviour would have been unthinkable in her times as a Hogwarts student. Well, maybe she'd be able to remedy the problem with the school leadership later. For now, Dolores would have to concentrate to create a suitable environment to find and protect their Open Link, because they didn't want to have it sullied or misled to forgo a disadvantageous connection. A set of strict rules would be a very good start for that. Maybe she should find a good place to put them up for everybody to see. That way those … spoilt children would always be reminded, what behaviour would be expected from them. Yes, that was a good idea. She’d just have to wait for tomorrow’s edition of the Prophet to announce her new position and then she could let Argus Filch put up her first set of rules. The students would hopefully accept them without a fuss. If not, she had already an idea of how to make them re-evaluate their scandalous behaviour.

sssssssss

Fred almost spit his coffee out when he heard Angelina announce the news of Umbridge’s new position at breakfast. If she hadn’t shown him the headline of the Prophet herself, he would have thought she was taking the mickey out of him, but there it stood black on white: Professor Dolores Umbridge was named Hogwarts’ new High Inquisitor with the aim to reform the school and their student’s untamed behaviour. 

“Untamed behaviour?” George echoed his thoughts over his shoulder and looked at the girls across them with a crooked grin. "Gods, she'll be addressing it in our next lesson with her, won't she?"

Fred groaned. “Merlin, that’s today. Can’t we be sick or something? What’s with the… you know… maybe we should make a little test run?”

George shrugged. “Well, in the worst case we’ll get ourselves sick for real, but that’s nothing a visit with Madam Pomfrey wouldn’t fix. One way or the other, it would get us out of class…”

“What should we go for? Puking pastilles? Nosebleed nougat?” Fred asked and grinned boyishly but George just shrugged.

"We have the toad once a week, that's enough opportunities for us to try them all," he replied with a grin. "And if our new High Inquisitor really starts doing what I think she will, the business will be booming, soon Freddy. So we should probably use the time we gain today for adjusting the recipes and stocking up.”

Fred grinned. “And I thought this would turn out to be a dull day…”

“With the two of us together? Never Freddy, never.”

Sssssssss

“Students must refrain from showing inappropriate behaviour in and outside of class,” Hermione read and stared at the new fixed rule in the entrance hall of the castle, “such as kissing, touching and other inappropriate shows of affection.”

Ron snorted next to her in disbelief. “Really? That’s the first thing that sprang into Umbridge’s mind when she decided she wants to reform the school?"

Harry shrugged next to him. “Well, if that’s the thing she worries about the most. It’s not like it’s a big deal for us. I mean… none of us… errr… do this kind of thing, right?”

“But that’s not the  _ point _ ," Hermione bit out and looked at the boys with a stern expression. "We're not even back at school for two weeks and she already starts undermining Professor Dumbledore's authority. Don't you see? The Ministry is starting to interfere with our education. That is simply unheard off. What will be next? Will she start forbidding school clubs or evaluating the other teachers?"

Ron shook his head in disbelief. "No. Dumbledore would never let her get away with that Hermione. I have a feeling that this is somehow about that Open Link. That's the thing the Ministry is really interested in."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. "We need to find out who it is - if it is one of us. Couldn't you brew this Draught of Insight again, Hermione? That way we could at least find out if it's you or me."

She weighed her head. “I could, but we’d have to find a safe place to brew it first. I honestly don’t feel like returning to Myrtle’s bathroom after knowing that it’s the entrance to… you know…”

Harry sighed next to her. “We’ll find you a place. You could ask Fred and George, they know the castle like no one else…”

Well, that would definitely supply her with a reason to talk to them again, which she definitely shouldn’t as long as she hadn’t gotten over this silly crush of hers. Talking to them would only make it worse and…

“Huh? There they are!” Ron interrupted her thoughts and pointed towards his brother’s who hurried towards them with blood pouring from their noses. They had some kind of tissue pressed against their faces, but the fabric was already soaked in red and would soon start dripping onto the floor. She stared at them with wide eyes.

“Merlin, Fred, George,” she gasped and hurried towards them, her resolution already forgotten. “What happened?”

They just shrugged helplessly and stared at her with large, brown eyes. She could feel her heart melt and all her resolutions with it. “Alright, I’ll help you get to the infirmary. We can’t let you lose consciousness in the middle of the staircases now, can we?”

The twins nodded with a helpless shrug, but it was enough for Hermione to step between them and put her hands on their backs. It wasn’t strictly necessary of course, but it didn’t look like they minded the contact.

“Harry? Ron? Could you excuse me with Professor McGonagall? I’ll be back to her lesson as soon as possible.”

Her friends nodded hastily and waved her off. Hermione didn't lose any time before she started to guide Fred and George down the floor. "Alright you two, let's get you patched up, shall we? I'm sure Madam Pomfrey will have you fixed up in no time at all."

They cast her a happy smile and Hermione couldn’t help but recognize the little jump her heart made at that, traitorous little organ.


	7. Getting to know you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was betaed by the brilliant multilingualism. Thank you for helping me, my friend!

“ _ Well, that didn’t go as planned _ ,” Fred thought while he and George were guided to the hospital wing by a very enthusiastic Hermione Granger. The girl was a saint and it was probably totally unthinkable to her, that Fred and George were just faking their bleeding noses and could have just taken the antidote that was safely stored in their pockets, to cure themselves. But now that she had seen them and made up this pretty little mind of hers to prevent them from bleeding out in the corridors or whatever she was thinking, they couldn't very well tell her that they had just looked for a way to get out of Umbridge’s class. Because that was something their favourite, over-achieving Prefect surely wouldn’t understand. And Fred didn't want to ruin his chances to get the witch before he had even started to woo her.

“ _ Maybe we could convince her to stay at our side for a bit if we look pity-worthy enough _ ,” George whispered through the twin link and Fred had a hard time not to start smirking.

“ _ Well, it would be a chance to spend some time with Hermione and to get to know her a bit better _ ," Fred answered back, without Hermione noticing a thing. " _ If we can’t use the time to invent products for our shop, we can at least enjoy ourselves. _ ”

As if to underline this thought, Hermione’s arm on his back shifted slightly which made the skin prickle in anticipation. Yeah, enjoying himself definitely wasn’t a bad idea at all.

“Here we are,” Hermione announced encouragingly as she guided them through the doors of the infirmary. Madame Pomphrey puttered somewhere in the back but turned around as soon as Hermione called for her. But as her eyes landed on them, her expression turned wary and she looked them over with small eyes.

“What did you do to yourselves this time, gentlemen?” she muttered and Hermione hastily stepped back to get out of the Matron’s way. It was right in time, as the medi-witch was in front of them a moment later and guided them to two beds nearby. Hermione followed them with her eyes and looked at them with a worried expression. Fred tried to send her an encouraging smile, but right at that moment Madam Pomfrey vanished the tissue he held in front of his nose and a stream of blood erupted from his nose. It mustn’t have been a pretty sight, because Hermione’s skin started to look a bit peachy, even though she bravely returned his smile.

"Another one of your experiments?" the medi-witch muttered and held the glowing tip of her wand under his nose.

Fred shrugged with a grin. “We just can’t help our curiosity,” he explained good-naturedly, which made the older woman sigh in resignation.

“The two of you will be the death of me,” she murmured and cast a number of healing spells to fix his nose. It wasn't long after that she was finished with them.

"Alright, you two. Try not to come back here too soon. It’s enough to have you here once a week,” she scolded them with a stern look but Fred just grinned at her.

“You can admit that you like it when we visit you now and then," he said and winked at her but the matron just sent him a small smile and shook her head.

“Off you go, or I’ll change my mind and keep you for the rest of the day.”

"See? I told you she likes us," Fred said loudly to his brother and George chuckled amusedly. That was until his eyes fell on Hermione, who waited for them with a nervous expression on her face.

"Are you alright?" she asked while kneading her hands. "You looked like you've been in a fight or something." Her eyes trailed back and forth between them with a worried expression. "Did you fight?"

George cast her a good-natured smile. “Of course not. Fred and I never fight with each other, don’t worry.”

Hermione blinked in surprise. “Never? Not even as kids?" They smiled in unison before they turned towards the door that would lead them to their freedom. When their girl just looked at them with a stunned expression, they each held out a hand for her, in the hope that she might take it. But that only seemed to confuse her further and she turned around with furrowed brows. "Do you want me to accompany you back to your lesson?"

Fred shrugged and started walking towards the door. "I'm still feeling a bit shaky," he lied shamelessly and looked at her with faked embarrassment. "George and I will probably just go back to a quiet place and rest a bit. But… you could join us to make sure we're alright." Fred smiled at her with a hopeful expression. He knew that he was probably overdoing it, as Hermione Granger was nothing if not dutiful, but it was worth a try. And by the look of her furrowed brows, she was really considering his suggestion.

“Do you really think you’ll need me to keep an eye on you?” she asked while they strolled down the corridor together and looked at them with pink cheeks. Why was she blushing? It wasn’t like they hadn’t been alone together before.

George shrugged at her other side. "Not sure. We might be totally fine in a while, but it's quite a long way back into the common room. But I can totally understand if you'd rather go to your Transfiguration lesson." It was totally unfair of them to trick her like that, but Hermione Granger was pretty hard to meet alone and so they were taking every chance they could get. They just had to hope that she wouldn't discover that they were in fact totally fine because they had faked their nosebleed in the first place.

Hermione studied them with a hesitant expression while gnawing on her bottom lip, but finally, her shoulders sagged with a sigh. "Alright, I'll stay with you. But just until you feel better, alright?” The twins beamed at her.

“Alright,” they said in unison and nodded.

"We could even do homework together," George suggested casually. "Or we just tell you a bit about our childhood, if you like, because you seemed rather surprised that Fred and I never argue with each other."

She blinked in surprise. “You’d really do homework? But I’m not going to help you with your essays.”

Fred snorted. “Of course not. We might be a bit lazy sometimes, but we’re not Ron, you know? We can do our own work.”

Hermione looked at them with pink cheeks. “I know, I’m sorry. I really didn’t want to imply anything.”

“ ’s alright Hermione,” the other redhead said and cast her a sunny smile. “It just seems that you really don’t know us very well. And we should definitely change that. Can’t have it, that you confuse us with our little brother.”

“… because we are really in a category of our own,” Fred continued and winked at her.

Hermione chuckled. "I never doubted that you know?"

ssssssssss

That much for her good intentions, they went right out of the window. Hermione had really wanted to keep her distance from the twins to not embarrass herself with her feelings towards them, but that was before they asked her to spend the afternoon with them. She had really considered going back to her lesson, but as she had already read the chapter on transfiguring mice anyway, she knew that she wasn’t going to miss anything that she couldn’t teach herself. And so she had finally relented and agreed to accompany Fred and George to the common room. They would be doing homework together after all and there wasn’t really anything, she could say against that, right?

The common room was unsurprisingly empty as almost all of the students were still in their classes and so the twins chose one of the cosy corners with a sofa and two armchairs. After a hesitant look towards them, she chose an armchair for herself, while Fred and George settled together on the sofa.

“How much do you have to do?” George asked her and looked at her with an inclined head.

"Just potions today," she said and pulled out her book and her writing utensils out of her bag. “You?”

“Transfiguration and a bit of charms,” George replied with a shrug. “ ‘s not a big deal, we already know what to write. So we can skip the reading.”

She furrowed her brows. “Well, but I’m sure you’ll need to double-check some details.”

Fred shrugged. “Maybe, but usually we are fine without.”

With that, they set themselves to work. It didn't take long until she realized that doing homework with the Weasley twins was completely different than doing homework with Harry and Ron. Her friends were usually quite distracted and kept fidgeting and moaning, while they did their work. Fred and George, on the other hand, sat in complete silence and worked with an efficiency, which could only leave her staring at them in fascination. Their quills seemed to be moving nonstop and she didn't even have half of her essay finished until both of them stretched and put their parchment aside. 

"You're already finished?" she asked them in disbelief and couldn't help that her eyes drifted towards the scroll on the floor. Could that even be a good essay, if they had barely taken their time to think about what they were writing? George seemed to sense her thoughts, as he watched her actions with a knowing smile on his face and said: "You look like you'd love to read our scribblings. Well, go on, don't be shy. We really don't mind."

Hermione looked back and forth between the two brothers. “Really? I don’t want you to think that I’m nosy or… well… a Know-It-All.” Her cheeks turned pink at her words, a thing they seemed to do regularly in their presence, which was honestly the most annoying thing.

“Why would we think that, Hermione?” Fred said with a happy smile. “You’re curious and that’s never a bad thing. We must know…” He winked at her, before handing over his scroll and leaning back on the sofa. She blinked at him for a moment, but as neither of them said anything else she put her own essay aside and started reading. Hermione was only three inches in before she realized how good it was. She had always been interested in human transfiguration and even though she had already read some books on the topic, none of them had been able to explain the basic principles for a transformation into another living being like that. And before Hermione realized it, she was totally swallowed by the text.

“Well? What do you think?” Fred interrupted her thoughts after a while and after she recognized how nervous he sounded she realized that she hadn’t only read his essay twice but had continued gathering her own thoughts on the topic afterwards.

“It’s brilliant!” she exclaimed and handed the parchment back with a beaming smile. “I’ve seriously never read anything like it. It's like…" she struggled for words, "Well, most specialised texts are rather dry to read and sometimes you have to read a passage twice or even more often until you can really grasp the meaning. But this…"

“Does it mean you like it?” the redhead asked her with a hopeful smile.

“Absolutely,” Hermione said wholeheartedly. “You’ve done something I am never quite able to. You didn’t just repeat what’s in the textbook and put it into a new context… you put in something of your own, too. When I’m reading this I finally realize, why Snape’s always complaining about my essays ruminating the book.”

Fred snorted in amusement. "Don't worry about the old bat. By the way, how's your essay going?" Without waiting for an answer he wordlessly summoned her parchment from the floor and looked it over with his brows furrowed in concentration. Hermione wanted to protest because after reading his essay, she almost felt stupid for hers. And that had really never happened to her before. But finally, she sighed and leaned back in her armchair, to wait for his comments. It didn’t take long before he looked at her, with a smile dancing behind his eyes.

“Ah yeah, the endless essays on the influence of clockwise versus anti-clockwise stirring techniques. It’s one of Snape’s favourite topics I fear.” He snorted, before handing her the essay back. “But you’re almost finished by the look of it. Just discuss its effect on the required simmering time and you’re about done.”

Hermione nodded and reopened her essay in front of her. She studied her text for a few seconds before she looked up at Fred with furrowed brows. "I don't get it," she said to the two of them and shook her head. "You're brilliant! How does nobody realize that?"

The twins looked at her with a stunned expression.

“Well, some teachers like McGonagall do see it, I guess, but they usually only moan about our wasted potential," George replied and shook his head with a grin.

Fred shrugged. “But we’re not wasting anything. Our dreams are just not the same as everybody else's. I mean honestly! Could you see us as Prefects or even Head Boys? We'd die of utter boredom."

Hermione couldn’t suppress a chuckle. “That’s true I guess. But, what about your NEWTs? You’re each only attempting three of them, aren’t you?”

They nodded seriously. “Absolutely. Charms, Transfiguration and Defence NEWTs are all we need," George said and smiled but Hermione wasn't convinced.

“Not potions? You both seem fairly good at it and I almost got the impression you liked the subject. And wouldn’t it be useful, if you want to design your own products?”

Fred smiled. He didn’t seem insulted by her words at all. “You’re right of course; I love potions, to be honest. That is, in fact, the reason I decided to not suffer through two more years of Snape. This guy manages to almost squish the interest in the topic in anyone and even though he's a talented brewer, he's a horrible teacher."

Hermione looked at him with wide eyes. Fred was right, in a way, but she still didn’t like to talk bad about one of her teachers. And so she just shrugged without giving any answer at all.

Instead, George continued his brother's explanation. "Honestly Hermione, all he does is tell you the right side in the potions book and walk through the class and make snide comments. One could think he does that to prevent potions accidents, but there were enough of those in our class and I'm pretty sure it's not any different in yours. So what's the use of sitting through two more years of that? We much rather use the time teaching ourselves something useful."

She sighed. What they said did make sense, at least for them. And so she couldn’t even fault them for their reasoning. “I honestly never looked at it like that,” she admitted with a small smile. “But I guess you really thought that through. And the two of you would make horrible ministry employees anyway.”

Fred and George were totally stunned. “You agree with us? Really? Just like that?”

“Why not?”, she said with a shrug. "You really seem to have put a lot of thought in that. And I'm not your mum, so it's none of my business anyway."

They looked at her with shining eyes and happy smiles. “Well, apart from Harry, you’re the first one just accepting our plan without making a big fuss. Even Ron thinks we’re a bit barmy,” George said with a grin.

“Well, we always knew our Hermione is special, didn’t we Georgie?” Fred said to his brother and winked at her and just like that the colour was back in her cheeks. Merlin, when would she finally stop embarrassing herself in front of them? It’s not like they were flirting with her after all. They were just trying to be nice, right?


	8. The deal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was kindly betaed by Multilingualism. Thank you, my friend!

“Do you think we overdid it?“ George murmured to his twin when they readied themselves for bed in the evening. "The poor girl looked like she was about to faint when you started making suggestions for her essay."

Fred snorted. "Well, I didn't lie when I told her that she doesn't know us very well. We need her to realize that there's more to us than the careless pranksters and Quidditch beaters, all the others seem to see when we want to win her heart. I mean, there is more to us, even though we usually do not advertise it.”

George nodded and took off his hand-knit sweater. “I know. We usually cultivate this picture of us, but that won’t win us any points with her I guess. It’s just that she seemed a bit overwhelmed towards the end. Do you think she might suspect that we are up to something?”

Fred scratched his head with a chuckle. “We are always up to something, George. So I think that’s a definite ‘yes’ to your question. And her pretty blushes give me hope, that she’s not totally indifferent towards us either.”

“You think so?” his brother asked in a hopeful voice and for a short, sad moment Fred realized that only one of them would be able to get the girl in the end.

“It’s hard to resist the charm of a Weasley-twin,” he agreed and clapped his brother on his back with a wide smile. “…even for somebody like Hermione.”

“I hope you’re right,” George muttered and slipped on the shirt he’d use for the night.

“Me, too,” Fred added in his thoughts. “Me, too.”

ssssssss

Hermione would have thought that by now she would have mentally arrived in the new school year somehow, but right now everything seemed a bit different for her, but it was obviously much the same for the rest of the school. Both of her friends had changed rather substantially over the last weeks. Harry was very moody and broody most of the time and usually, he looked around with a permanent scowl etched into his face now. She could understand of course, as the Ministry and the Prophet still spewed their venom against him and turned him into a liar or an attention-seeking teenager, which was both objectively spoken, absolute nonsense. But more than half of the school seemed to believe the media’s lies or find them pretty convenient and so her friend was faced with harassing comments day by day. And Hermione really felt sorry for him. Luckily Harry still somehow managed to hold his temper, but she could tell that the anger was simmering right below his surface and it was only a matter of time until he could no longer hold his frustration in.

Ron was an entirely different matter. He, too, had changed over the last weeks and even though he still seemed emotional or flustered from time to time, he managed puberty rather well. Ever since his confession that he was not the Open Link and the conversation that followed, Ron seemed to have established a new self-confidence that rather suited him. And Hermione really enjoyed this new side of him.

“Don’t worry about those Slytherins," she whispered to him as they were just sitting over their breakfast. It was the day of the Gryffindor versus Slytherin Quidditch match and it was no surprise that emotions were running high on all sides. "They think themselves so funny and sneaky with their little stickers, but I think they realized that they only have a chance of winning this game if they make you lose your nerve."

He looked at her with a grimace. "No pressure then, huh?"

Hermione smiled. "Don't worry, Ron. The last weeks have shown pretty clearly that you are capable of much more than you gave yourself credit for in the past. Just believe in yourself and they don't stand a chance." She put her arm around his shoulder and pulled him close.

“Thanks, Mione,” her friend mumbled with rosy cheeks and a smile on his lips.

“Awww, you should start working as a team motivator or something, Hermione,” she suddenly heard from behind her and when she turned around she saw Fred and George, who looked at her with twinkling eyes and a matching smile on their lips. It didn’t even take a moment until the blush was back on her cheeks. By now it was almost permanently there, whenever she was in their presence.

“Maybe you should give us a hug, too? Just for good luck,” Fred said and grinned handsomely. Merlin, it almost sounded like he was flirting with her. Was he?

“Oi, you two leave Mione alone,” Ron scolded his brothers with a dark expression. “Stop making fun of her, I won’t have it.” For a moment both of the twins looked at their brother in surprise, but finally, George smiled and pulled him to his feet with a good-natured smile.

"Alright, alright, calm down little brother. Let's go down to the pitch, shall we? Then we can get you warmed up before all the Slytherin jerks arrive.”

Ron still scowled at them, but finally, he nodded with a sigh. "Alright, let's go. I don't mind having some more minutes that I don't have to look at Malfoy's self-satisfied smirk. It makes my hand itch in anticipation."

George snorted and pulled his little brother between him and Fred. “We could deliver some Bludgers into his face if it would make you feel better." Hermione couldn't hear his answer, as they had already started to make their way out of the great hall, but as all three of them started laughing, it must have been a good one. 

Sssssssss

George still wasn’t sure how things could have gone south that quickly. The Quidditch match had gone so well and to his big surprise, Ron had performed above all expectations. He should have known that the Slytherins would try to deliver some sort of payback but he still hadn't been prepared for the cruel insults Malfoy delivered against his and Harry’s parents.

"Well, gentlemen? What do you have to say to defend your violent actions towards Mr Malfoy?" Umbridge said in her sickly sweet voice and looked at the assembled culprits with shiny eyes. Today she wore a sky blue fluffy jacket and a huge bow in the matching colour and George asked himself if no one had ever told her how hideous she looked. They had been unlucky enough that their new High Inquisitor caught them first, as she had claimed the task of punishing them for herself, even though McGonagall had protested rather loudly. But it was of no use.

“He insulted our parents,” Fred protested next to him and looked at the toady woman with a clenched jaw and a fierce expression in his brown eyes. George was pretty sure that his twin wanted to say more, but he was glad that he managed to hold himself back. They really couldn’t use any more trouble.

“Does this give you the right to attack your classmates like some sort of wild animals? Such behaviour shows a substantial lack of self-control and sets a very bad example for all younger students. One should believe that students your age should be able to behave more maturely, but obviously, I was mistaken."

She looked at them with her blue eyes shining with disappointment but George couldn't help but think that this whole display of emotions was faked. He couldn't pinpoint if it was something in her voice or in her eyes, but he was pretty sure that the short woman was secretly pleased that she had found a reason to punish them. And this realisation let his skin crawl in dark anticipation about what was coming. "I am sure you understand that such behaviour cannot go unpunished, as this would encourage others to imitate these foul manners. And we don’t need any more chaos in this school.” 

George looked at her with a scowl. Well, he could kind of see her point, but he still wasn’t sorry for going after Malfoy one bit. And he still wouldn’t be, after he served his detention with the toad.

“Alright, when are you expecting us for detention?” Fred asked and George was almost sure that his twin tried to imitate a friendly tone. But he could still hear the anger in his voice.

“Detention?” Umbridge asked surprised and looked at them with an unsettling smile. "Oh, no, boys, not this time. I think a temporary Quidditch ban until after the next game will get the message through more likely, don’t you think?”

It was as if he’d been gutted, as all air suddenly seemed to have left him. Merlin, this witch was truly evil and she totally knew how to play her card right.

“You can’t just ban three members of the Quidditch team!” Fred protested to his left and George could clearly feel his twin’s anger through the twin bond. But the evil witch in front of them just widened her pseudo-friendly smile at his words. “Oh, believe me, Mr Weasley, I can and I will. So I would strongly recommend the three of you think carefully, before acting out the next time. Did I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Ma'am," George grumbled and got to his feet. And right at this moment, he hated no one more than Dolores Umbridge, not even You-Know-Who himself. The woman had just made herself at least two very mischievous enemies, even though it would take her some time to realize that. Sooner or later he and his twin would deliver their payback, he told himself, but first, he'd have to survive the dressing down that was surely waiting for them, as soon as the rest of the Quidditch team realized that they were three players short.

ssssssss

"I need you to brew that Draught of Insight for me, Hermione," Harry mumbled a few days later when they were just busy doing their homework together. The Gryffindor common room was packed with busy students and there was the constant hum of voices in the air around them, but Hermione had long gotten used to the sound and had no problems concentrating on her work until Harry had interrupted her with his sudden request. He had been in an even worse mood ever since the fateful Quidditch match against Slytherin, but she also couldn’t avoid noticing that her friend looked more and more tired day by day.

She looked at him with raised eyebrows. "We talked about this, Harry. First, I'd need a suitable place for brewing it. I can't very well ask Snape if I could use his lab, can I?"

Harry looked at her with a tired expression. “I know, Hermione. It’s just that, there’s really something wrong with me. I… my scar has started hurting again and lately I've been having really strange dreams. I… I really think there's something wrong with me and I just don't know what else to do!" Harry had leapt from the sofa at the last words and Hermione could see that half of the common room was watching them by now. Her messy-haired friend seemed to have realized it too, as his shoulders sagged and he sat back down defeatedly.

“Sorry, I didn’t want to start shouting,” he mumbled shamefacedly and stared into his lap. “I don’t know why I get so angry lately. But you see what I mean. I haven’t been like that in the past, but suddenly…” He buried his hands in his hair. “Hermione, please. We need to find a way to make this potion again. All we need is a safe place for some hours. That shouldn’t be too difficult, right?”

Hermione sighed. “Alright. I’ll find a way. Just… give me some days and don’t do anything rash. Keep your head down and try not to get in any more trouble, Okay?”

Harry nodded and looked at her full of gratefulness. “Yeah, Okay. It’s not like I need any more trouble, right?”

Ron snorted next to him and clapped him onto the back: “Not really, no. Trouble keeps finding you, Harry, and in this school year it seems to be right on your heels.”

Hermione wholeheartedly agreed with her friend’s statement and so it only took her a few minutes to make up her mind. She had helped Harry countless times but he had rarely asked for her help like that. He was desperate and Hermione had helped him with much more difficult or dangerous things in the past. Brewing a potion that only took some hours was compared to that almost not even worth mentioning. 

With a defeated sigh she excused herself from her friends and strolled over to the other end of the common room, where Fred and George were lounging together on one of the Gryffindor-red sofas. She had mostly avoided them in the last days in the hope that her confused feelings would finally settle down, but she hadn't been that lucky. All it took for her was one look into their brown, sparkling eyes and she felt her heart flutter in her chest like some sort of trapped butterfly. Brilliant! But what didn’t she do for her friends?

“Fred? George? Do you have a minute?” she asked hesitantly and waited in front of the sofa. They looked up at her in surprise.

“Hermione,” Fred said and smiled. “Sure, sit down.” He patted the sofa right between him and his brother, who moved aside to make a bit more room for her. Then he looked up at her with an inviting smile.

“You don’t just want to stand there, do you?”

Inwardly she sighed, but on the outside, she plastered a happy smile on her face. Harry was definitely owing her, that much was sure. "No, of course not," she said and she sat down. Even though the sofa was quite big, their legs still brushed against each other, when she only moved a bit. The twins didn't seem to care though, as George promptly put his arm around her shoulder, while Fred put one of his around her back. And for a moment she really considered to just bolt from the sofa and tell Harry to finally start solving his own problems.

"So… what can we do for our favourite Prefect? Need any help with your homework?" Fred said cheekily and looked at her with sparkling eyes. But for a moment she had totally forgotten the reason why she went over to them at all. It was probably because her heart was occupied with pumping all her blood into her skin so that not a drop was left for her poor brain.

“I…” Hermione started, but suddenly she felt Fred's hand move just an inch on her back and her train of thought was lost to her again. She groaned inwardly. Were they doing this on purpose? "I wanted to ask your help," she finally bit out, before her speech left her again because her voice really did sound kind of squeaky already. "…not with homework, don't worry. I… I need a place where I'll be undisturbed for a few hours."

Fred looked at her with a wide grin. “Don’t tell me you need the place for a rendezvous that you want to keep a secret from our High Inquisitor.”

Was it possible to get any redder? She hadn't thought so, but Hermione had obviously been wrong. "No, nothing like that," she groaned and looked at them with a scowl. "I need the place for brewing the Draught of Insight, without anybody noticing.”

George studied her with a curious expression. “Draught of Insight, huh? Well, we might know a place for that, don’t we Freddy?”

“Yeah, we actually might,” Fred said, leaned back on the sofa and folded his hands behind his head. “Do we get something in return?”

For a moment she just stared at him with wide eyes. “You want something back? I…errrr… well…”

Both of them looked at her with an amused grin. "You could, for example, agree, to accompany us to Hogsmeade the next weekend," George suggested with a small smile. "Just Fred, you and me, what do you think?"

She thought that she must have finally snapped and started imagining things. Or that they were probably just trying to tease or to trick her and would start chuckling just in a moment. But nothing like that happened and they just waited for her answer with a patient smile on their lips.

“Are you serious? You… you want to take me to Hogsmeade? Like on a  _ date _ ?”

Her words must have turned shrill towards the end, as she could finally feel several pairs of eyes on her. She closed her eyes in mortification.

“If that’s alright with you?” George said with a happy smile and didn’t look embarrassed in the least. He actually looked quite smug, now that she thought about it.

"I…" she really didn't know what to say. Well, that was not true, because she definitely wanted to go on a date with them. She had fantasised about the Weasley twins for the last weeks, for Merlin's sake. So why was she afraid to say yes?

Fred looked at her with an encouraging smile. “We would only make a quick stop at Zonko’s and then we could browse the book store together. How does that sound?”

"And in return, we show you our secret hide-out," George added and squeezed her shoulders. "What do you think, Hermione?"

She thought that she had gone mad. “Alright,” she answered with an audible sigh. “But there is no way you can drag me to Madam Puddifoot’s or something equally embarrassing, is that clear?”

“Totally,” they answered in unison and with a wide grin. The view made her heart beat frantically in her chest. Merlin, could it be that they were truly interested in her, too? But how should that even work? She couldn’t very well date both of them, could she?

“Well then,” George interrupted her thoughts. “I would say you prepare your potions equipment for tomorrow afternoon. We’ll meet you at the portrait of the Fat Lady around 4.”

She nodded determinedly before she leapt from the sofa. “Alright, see you tomorrow then,” she said hastily and almost ran back to the spot, where Harry and Ron waited for her with wide eyes. Oh Merlin, she still couldn’t believe that she had agreed to go on a date with them.

“Hermione? Did you just…” Harry started carefully but closed his mouth like a fish after only a few words.

She sighed. "You mean if I just agreed to go on a date with Fred and George in exchange for them to show me a room, where I can brew your potion in?" she asked in a clipped voice. "Yeah, I did. You owe me for this, Harry Potter. I am in the right mood to demand your first-born child or something equally important in return for this.”

Ron looked at her with total disbelief, before his eyes turned towards Harry. “She has a point, mate. Merlin Hermione, I can't believe you agreed to this. What if they prank you the whole day or if they try to kiss you?" he said and sounded like the second option was significantly worse than the first. "Sometimes I think we really don’t deserve you, you know?”

Ron’s words charmed a small smile on her face. “I know, boys, believe me, I know.”


	9. When you think it’s bad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was kindly betad by my friend multilingualism. 

They had done it. They had convinced Hermione Granger to go on a date with them –  _ both  _ of them. Yes, she had only agreed because they had more or less blackmailed her to do it, but he and George had done it in a rather nice way, hadn’t they? And it wasn’t like they didn’t plan to let her enjoy the day with them, quite the contrary actually. So it wasn’t  _ actual _ blackmail, right?

It was like he and George had just landed the jackpot. Hermione Granger was a difficult witch to romance or even spend time with, as she was mostly shadowed by Ron or Harry or so deeply engaged in a book that she simply didn't notice her surroundings any longer. But now he and George had her just for themselves,  _ twice _ . Fred couldn’t believe his luck and he was determined to grab it with both hands, or should he say  _ her _ ?

Hermione looked nervous, when she waited for them in front of the portrait hole, her potions kit and school bag tightly clutched in her arms. Once more Fred realized how small she actually was, as the top of her head barely reached his shoulders. 

“Fred, George, right on time,” she said as her hazel eyes flickered up to them and a shy smile tugged on her lips. Still, she looked like she was just about to bolt from the room.

" 'Course we are,” George said with a grin and pried the potions kit from her hands to carry it for her. “I’ll carry this for you. You ready to go?"

Hermione nodded hastily and clutched her back even tighter, like she was afraid, that it would be taken from her, too. Fred honestly considered it for the show of being a gentleman, too, but when he saw her reaction he quickly reconsidered. Better not to try too much too soon. “Today you’ll learn one of our secrets,” Fred told her while walking at her right side. "You'll have to forget your responsibilities as a Prefect for once because we trust you not to rat us out."

From the corner of his eyes, he saw her nod. “I wouldn’t do that to you, not if you endangered your secret by agreeing to help me,” she said in a serious but silent voice.

He smiled. "That's one more reason why you're our favourite Prefect." Fred winked at her and it didn't even take a moment until the pretty blush was back on her face. But Fred didn’t comment on it and just enjoyed the view.

It wasn’t long until they stopped in front of the statue of the three-eyed troll on the 6 th floor. The statue was one of the ugliest ones in the castle and aside from the fact that the thing had three eyes, it was a very convincing replica of the mountain trolls Fred had seen in his school books. The secret passage behind it was one that they had only discovered last year but ever since it was one of their favourites.

“It’s only a little bit further,” George promised and after checking that no one else was around, he activated the secret mechanism by tickling the troll’s left foot. Immediately, the statue hobbled to the side and revealed the door that was hidden behind it. George opened it with a fluid motion and invited Hermione inside with a bow and a proud grin. “Mylady? After you,” he said and the girl cast him a questioning gaze before stepping inside. Fred knew of course what she would find there, but the surprised gasp from her was still music in his ears. He cast his brother a proud grin before he followed Hermione into their secret lab. There she stood and looked around with wide eyes and an open mouth. When he and George had found the place during their last year, the place had been full of cobwebs and dust but they had quickly cleaned everything out and arranged the heavy workbenches along the walls in a circle so that the middle of the room offered enough space for their more voluminous experiments. By now the whole room was filled with sparkling and whizzing products in development as well as with five cauldrons full of bubbling potions. Four of them would form the base of their new wonder witch beauty line, the last one was another special project for him.

“This looks like…is this  _ your _ lab?" their favourite Prefect asked and looked at them like she had never seen them before. 

Fred nodded with a grin. "Georgie and I found the place last year and ever since we use it for our little side projects." He winked at her and made a grand gesture with his hand. "We mostly use the place to develop new products for our shop. I'm experimenting on different potions over there," he pointed to several work-benches with various cauldrons in the back of the room "and George does his enchantments in this area." Hermione followed his explanations with glowing eyes and he could see that her fingers were itching to touch everything. He smiled. "Go on, take a look. As long as none of our secrets leaves the room, we are fine with a little curiosity. We already told you, that we don't consider it a bad character trait."

Hermione nodded mutely and after she had placed her school bag on one of the tables, she carefully trailed through the room. Her eyes seemed to take in and catalogue everything and Fred would feel bad or worried, if it was anybody but her. This was Hermione Granger, the cleverest and most loyal girl he had ever met and he was absolutely sure that she would never compromise one of their experiments or betray their trust. It was a strange thing to have such trust in her, considering the fact, that they hadn’t talked that much to her in the past. But Fred had watched her over the years and he had the feeling that he knew her pretty well.

"What is this one?" the little witch asked after she had passed several work-benches without comment. He smiled when he saw what she was looking at. The project was one of his favourites at the moment after all. “It’s my attempt to create a mild version of the Felix Felicis. The original potion is pretty hard and expensive to make," he started and from her agreeing nod he assumed that she knew the original potion. "The one I am attempting to make for the shop is far less potent but enough to swing the luck to your side for minor, every-day events. The thing won't save your life in a duel or make you win a game of Quidditch but it might still bring the smile to your face more often than without taking it.”

Hermione blinked at him in surprise. “That is actually a really brilliant idea,” she said and smiled. “I can’t believe you are inventing all this stuff, without even taking your NEWT in Potions. But I can see that you are doing pretty well on your own.”

Fred snorted. “ ’m not though. There’s always Georgie, I'm rarely working alone in here." At that, George was at his side and he could feel his twin's arm around his shoulder. He smiled. "It takes two mad geniuses to come up with all of this stuff."

"Probably," Hermione agreed with a nod. "And even then it's hard to believe, you two came up with all this stuff on your own." She shook her head with a smile before she turned around and went back to the table she had chosen for herself. “Can I set up my stuff here?”

He shrugged. “Absolutely. Make yourself at home. If you need anything, I’m over there.” Fred pointed to his simmering cauldron and Hermione nodded with a smile.

"Alright, thank you, boys. I'll be careful not to disturb you with whatever you are working at."

George snorted from the other side of the room. "Nonsense, Hermione. If you need help or have a question, just ask. This isn't Snape's lesson. We’re here to have fun, okay?”

Hermione looked at both of them with glowing eyes and a shy smile. “Okay.” And Fred couldn’t help but think that they had just won her over a bit more.

sssssssss

Hermione went through her next school day like in trance. It wasn’t a new thing to her any longer, as it had happened to her a couple of times now since the holidays, but she couldn’t help but think that her old self would have been appalled by her lack of participation in the lessons. But today, Hermione didn’t care.

Yesterday had been odd. She hadn't known what to expect when the Weasley twins had promised her a room where she could finish Harry's potion in peace. She had maybe pictured an empty classroom or something like that but surely not a secret laboratory full of their own, halfway-finished inventions.

Her mind ran in circles over the question, if Fred and George were really interested in any kind of romance with her. While working with them neither Fred nor George had said anything that could be considered flirty or less than proper. They had treated her like a research partner, or a good friend, but definitely not like a love interest. So why had they asked her on a date? Well, they hadn’t asked her for a date explicitly, just for her to accompany them to Hogsmeade, hadn’t they? The date was what she had been implying but they also hadn’t disagreed with her statement when she confronted them with it. So what should she even expect, when she went to Hogsmeade with both of them? Would they try to romance her, to make it a proper date? She seriously doubted that they planned to share her in a relationship, right? Or was sharing a love-interest some kind of wizard-thing she hadn’t heard about until today? Arrrgh, it was just so frustrating to not know the answers to any of these questions. But as it appeared, she would have to accept the uneasiness for now.

“Hermione? Are you alright?” Harry’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts when she strolled down the corridor after she had finished her lessons for the day. “You seemed strangely absent today." It was true. She hadn't even realized that he had caught up with her, because she had been that absorbed by her never-ending train of thoughts. 

“Yeah, I’ve been a bit distracted today. Sorry, if I’ve been ignoring you. It really wasn’t on purpose.”

Her friend shrugged and cast her a good-natured smile. "It's fine Hermione. We all have a lot on our plate lately. Did you… did you manage to brew the potion yesterday?"

“Yeah,” she said and smiled. The evening in Fred’s and George’s lab had been really successful. The potion came along quite nicely and apart from the phial she intended for Harry she managed to bottle another one that she would keep for herself. “I put the phial under a stasis charm, so it will be ready for you, whenever you choose to take it.” She told her friend proudly.

“Good,” Harry said and flashed her a grim smile. “Do you have them with you?”

She looked at him with wide eyes. “You want to take them now?”

Harry nodded determinedly. “Absolutely. Let's look for an empty classroom or something. I think there are some of those on the 5 th floor."

At that, her friend turned into the direction that led them to the main staircases and started walking with even more determination. ‘ _ He’s really desperate _ ,’ Hermione realized, as she recognized his stiff posture and the strange magical tension that seemed to radiate from him in waves. Harry was right. They all had a lot on their plates, at the moment, but somehow the realization that she wasn’t the only one having problems made her feel better and a little less alien.

It really didn't take them long to find an empty classroom on the 5 th floor. Luckily the hallway was already deserted as all students had hurried back into their dorms, common rooms or outside after finishing their last lesson for the day and therefore it wasn't difficult to slip into the empty room without anyone noticing. They had barely stepped inside when Harry closed the door behind them with a determined face and even cast one of the charms Professor Flitwick had recently taught them for warding the room. “Alright, this should be enough to not get disturbed within the next minutes,” he said and walked towards them with a tired sigh. “Alright, Hermione. Do you have the potion? I’d really like to get this over with.”

Ron snorted. "I get it, mate, believe me. Remember? Some days ago I was the one begging Hermione to give her potion to me."

Harry nodded with a sigh. “I know. I really just want to know what’s wrong with me. All these strange dreams I have at night and then the pain is this damn scar. It’s slowly driving me mad.”

Hermione nodded understandingly. "We understand, Harry. Here's the potion." She handed him the potion that she had stored in an unbreakable vial in one of the inner pockets of her robes. Her friend took it with a smile of gratitude.

"Thanks, Hermione. I don't know what I'd do without you." Harry looked at his friends with a determined expression, before he took off the stopper and eyed the silvery potion within the vial. Then he took a deep breath and said: "Alright, let's do this." He locked his eyes with them and drowned the potion. The reaction was instant. Where the students, Hermione had seen taking the potion in Snape's class, had just fallen in some sort of trance, Harry gasped before his knees buckled and he slid to the floor. There he fell to his side and crumpled into a ball by grabbing his knees with his arms. Ron was at his side in an instant.

"Harry, Merlin! Is that supposed to be happening?" he shouted in a panicked voice and looked at her with wide eyes. "Hermione, do something!" 

Hermione kneeled down next to Harry with her heart beating heavily in her chest. Merlin, what had she done? Had the potion gone wrong without her noticing it? With shaking hands she felt Harry’s pulse point and just when she realized that his heart was beating frantically, his eyes fluttered open with a gasp. For a moment he just stared at them from the floor with frightened, wild eyes, before he grasped Hermione’s and Ron’s hands and pulled himself up in a sitting position. “Harry? Are you alright?” Ron asked with his eyes full of concern. 

Harry shook his head and looked at them with his green eyes full of panic and hopelessness, while his breath came out in laboured pants.

“Harry?” Hermione tried carefully and gently pressed his hand. “Please Harry, talk to us. You’re really scaring us right now.”

Ron nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, mate. Whatever it is, you know we won't judge you. Just talk to us."

The boy on the floor blinked. "Are you sure? Because I'm pretty sure the answer I've gotten will scare you as least as much as it is scaring me. And I’m just about to lose it right now.”

Ron stared at his friend with wide eyes. "What is it? Are you the Open Link?"

But the other boy just snorted, before a humourless laugh escaped him. “I wish it was that easy. Merlin… being the Open Link would definitely be considered good news compared to… this." He seemed to struggle for words. Finally, he let go of their hands and started pulling at his hair. Then he sighed again and closed his eyes for a long moment. When he opened them again, he shook his head and said: “Merlin, there is really no easy way of saying this. The reason I have these nightmares… I…” He closed his eyes with a pained expression on his face and without opening them he continued: “There's a part of Voldemort's soul living inside of me. It must have kind of awakened or something when he resurrected himself on this damned graveyard."

For a moment their friend just sat there, waiting for their reaction with closed eyes and Hermione couldn’t help but wonder, if he didn’t want to see the expressions on their faces. But the gasp of shock that left her mouth still betrayed her feelings anyway. She could feel her hand starting to tremble and for a moment she had to fight the urge to pull it out of Harry’s grasp, but she willed herself to stay calm as she asked: “Are you sure? What exactly is it that the potion told you?”

A that, Harry opened his green eyes and looked at her with something resembling tiredness and resignation. "There is a part of Voldemort's soul that somehow got attached to me. The potion didn't say how only that it is there and pretty much alive. But that's all I got from it."

Hermione took a deep breath before she sought out his eyes. They are still the same, she reminded herself, even though she could have sworn to catch a red shimmer behind them for a second. And the realisation that it probably wasn't just her imagination playing a trick on her freaked her out beyond measure. Merlin, if this was really true, then they were in big trouble.

"You have to talk to Professor Dumbledore, Harry. You need to tell him what we just found out," she urged her friend and she could feel the determination return to her voice. "We are not sure if… this" she motioned helplessly towards his scar "affects you in any other way than by giving you strange dreams. It can very well be that the anger you feel isn't your anger at all…" She let the statement hang in the room for a minute and by the widening of the boy's eyes they had gotten what she wanted to imply. Good. Because this really wasn't the moment to back out and hide below one's blanket. "If anyone knows what all of this means, or how it happened or hell… how to get rid of it, then it's Professor Dumbledore, Harry."

Her black-haired friend nodded, but he still stared at her with his shoulders sagged in defeat. “Yeah, I know. But… he’s been kind of avoiding me ever since the summer holidays, I think. I’m not even sure if he’d be willing to talk to me now.”

But Hermione just shook her head in determination. "He has to talk to you, Harry. This is important, really important." With that, she pulled herself to her feet and flattened the wrinkles in her robe. Then she looked at the boys with a raised chin and a determined expression in her eyes. "I'll come with you, Harry. I am a Prefect after all. I know we can't go and talk to the Headmaster directly, but we can always go to Professor McGonagall. She's also a member of the Order, so it should be safe to talk to her about your… problem."

Ron was on his feet next to her just a moment later. “Good idea, Hermione. I’ll be right behind you, mate. Don’t worry Harry. We’ll fix this somehow. You’re not alone in this, right Mione?”

Hermione nodded with a smile. “No, we’re in this together. Whatever happens Harry, we’ll be right behind you.”


	10. The enemy in your head

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was kindly betaed by my friend multilingualism. 

Severus Snape was looking forward to a peaceful afternoon without grading or peeking into the heads of adolescent students that didn't think about much else than whom to pull into one of the various broom closets next. It was a tiring task that left him moody and with a sick feeling in his stomach more often than not, but in the momentary situation, Legilimency was the only tool at his disposal that he could use to find the student who was the Open Link. It was a tedious task as it could be almost any one of them and Severus wasn't one who had followed the school's gossip as some of his other colleagues. And in his recent situation that really came as a big disadvantage. He wasn’t privy to his student’s little dirty secrets and the details of their love life because honestly, who wanted to know these things as an adult? There had been enough teenage drama and heartbreak in his youth to last him a lifetime, so why in the name of Salazar should he seek out anybody else’s on top of that? It was tasteless and he wouldn't have loved anything more than to tell the Dark Lord to do the job himself just once, but he guessed that he would have liked his master's answer even less. And so Severus soldiered on.

But not today, no. Today his schedule was blissfully empty and he could finally use some of his time to go over the newest issues of “Potions and Poisons” that was sitting on his desk for weeks without him having time to read it. Today as his time for leisure and that usually meant reading – a lot.

But Severus should have known that it wasn’t meant to be. The day had been going too well, so far, and so he wasn’t even a little bit surprised when his fireplace roared to life and the flames inside turned green a moment later.

"Severus? Are you in?" called the Headmaster's voice through the flames. He groaned and flung the still untouched article back on the coffee table, that held his untouched cup of tea that the enthusiastic house-elves had just provided for him. 

“No Albus,” he called through the room and buried his face in his hands. “Whatever it is, do me the favour and go to somebody else, just  _ once _ .” He really wasn’t in the mood to endure the old fool’s chatter or his endless theories concerning the Open Link today, because when there was anybody who loved gossip more than Sybil Trelawney, then it was Albus fucking Dumbledore. But Severus really couldn’t take any more of it. Not today.

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible, my boy,” his voice answered without the air of amusement. "We do have kind of an emergency concerning young Mister Potter. I must ask you to come to my office at once."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," the tired Potions Master grumbled and leapt from the brown leather sofa, he called his own. What had the stupid moron done now? Did he and his little friends brew another batch of cat-hair infused Polyjuice? He swore he would let them stew on the Infirmary for a few weeks before he would find the time to brew the right antidote this time. The boy finally had to learn to keep himself out of trouble and not run towards it every time, when he scented some excitement. Otherwise, it wouldn't be long until he got them all killed. And Severus had enough shit on his feet to manage that all by himself just fine, thank you very much.

He really wasn’t prepared for the assembly of people in the Headmaster’s Office, when he stepped through the floo with a sour expression on his face. Next to an almost worried-looking Albus Dumbledore, there was also Minerva, who paced the room like an agitated lioness in a cage. That was probably how the stern woman felt anyway, as her eyes tirelessly trailed over her three lion cubs that set in front of the Headmaster's desk. He had expected Harry Potter, of course, but he should have known that his two best friends weren't far behind, when trouble was involved. 

“Ah Severus,” the old man in midnight-blue robes said with a pleased smile. “Thank you for joining us so willingly.”

Who was this man trying to fool? The kids? By the look of it, they could definitely tell that he’d rather be somewhere else. And for once he really didn't feel like playing the Headmaster's games. "I'm here because you asked me to be, no more and no less. So out with it, what have these fools done now?"

He saw the Granger girl and Potter bristle in their chairs, while the Weasley boy looked like he was about to explode by the red colour of his face. But thankfully the Headmaster silenced them with a calming gesture of his hand. "I assure you, Severus, that the three of them are quite innocent this time. You see, Mr. Potter has just made a very disconcerting discovery concerning some unsettling dreams he has had in the last weeks.”

He couldn’t help but snort. “You called me because the boy has nightmares?” he asked in disbelief and he saw Minerva’s eyes flash in anger at his words. Interesting. But it wasn’t her or the Headmaster, who provided the answer to his question, but Potter himself.

“A part of Voldemort’s soul is living inside me,” the boy said heatedly and rose from his seat with clenched fists. “I don’t know how, but Hermione brewed this potion you recently taught us in class and that’s the answer it gave me.” Lily’s boy looked at him with those stubborn green eyes that reminded him so much of her and waited for his reaction. Severus just darted his eyes from one person to another and waited for them to correct or scold the boy. But they just stared at Potter with a sad, hopeless expression. Merlin, were they serious?

He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. When he opened them again his eyes were on the girl that sat next to her friend and clutched his hand, like her life or sanity was depending on it. “Miss Granger, where would you have brewed such a fragile and difficult potion without my knowledge? It takes a full equipped potions lab for it to turn out right and I am quite sure you weren't using any of the labs downstairs. So be so kind as to let me know, which dingy place or bathroom you chose this time for your extracurricular activities."

Severus could see the Know-It-All stiffen in her chair before her brown eyes flashed with anger and resistance. "The potion wasn't contaminated and was in perfect order, Professor," the little bushy-haired witch said and raised her chin proudly. "And as my previous attempt on brewing the Draught of Insight showed, I am very well able to achieve satisfying results."

Severus had to bite the inside of his cheek to not take points from the insolent child for its insulting tone, but he guessed that doing this wouldn't have been wise in presence of the Gryffindor-loving Headmaster and her Head of the House. Still, his fingers itched to do just that. But he wouldn't let himself be provoked by the little minx and so he looked at her with a calculated, cool expression instead. “That might very well be, but I still have to make sure that the potion Mr Potter ingested was at least working properly and he didn’t have some sorts of… hallucinations. I really don’t fancy causing an uproar over something that was just a figment of Mr Potters imagination.”

The Granger girl nodded solemnly. "That is only reasonable, I guess. I do have the other vial containing the potion with me if this would be of any help to you, Sir." Without waiting for his answer she handed him a small vial that she had stored inside of her robes and it only took him a brief look and a sniff at the substance to come to the conclusion, that the potion was indeed flawless. He closed the small glass container again, recast the stasis charm and pocketed it inside of his own robes before he looked at the annoying student with a dark expression.

“Where did you brew the potion Miss Granger?” he asked her directly and in a collected voice. And even though he had to give her credit for the attempt not to move, he could see her start to wiggle in her chair – good. “The secret is not mine to tell, Sir. I promised to keep it and so I can’t tell you. I’m sorry.” Her tone was almost polite and he could see the Headmasters lips twitch at her words, but Severus Snape was not impressed.

“As you wish, Miss Granger. That will be two weeks of detention with me, I fear." He had to work hard not to look too smug because he heard Minerva's gasp behind him, but the old, grumpy cat couldn't say a word, about the punishment not being justified – because it was. The Weasley boy had taken on the colour of a ripe tomato by now and Severus noted to himself, that it surely was rather tiring to be in such an irritable mood all the time. The boy really had to work on this self-control or otherwise, he'd have a stroke by 40. Hermione Granger, on the other hand, looked almost collected.

“Very well, Sir. Tell me what time you expect me in your office, Sir,” she said and looked at him with a solemn expression. He had no doubt though, that the girl was at least a little bit wounded, as he was pretty sure that she had only been in detention once or twice and never for such a long time.

"I'll expect you there today and every following day at 7 in the evening, including the weekends," he said and turned his attention to Potter. "Well, Mr Potter as for your  _ unfortunate condition _ …”

But he didn’t get any further, as he was promptly interrupted by Dumbledore himself. “You must teach him Occlumency, Severus. It will only help to a certain extent, I fear, but it is all we have until we find a more permanent solution.”

Severus didn't like the sound of that at all. If there was really a piece of the Dark Lord's soul inside the boy, then there were only very few possibilities for how this could have happened. And he didn't know a single way to get rid of such a soul piece without… Merlin, the boy would have to die and by the look of it, Dumbledore was already aware of that. And Severus would bet his good arm, that he didn't intend telling anyone of that fact, old manipulative bastard!

“Very well, Headmaster. I’ll teach him,” he said and looked at Lily’s son with a calculating expression. “Mr Potter, I expect you at my office every Saturday after lunch. If somebody asks, you are taking additional Potions Classes to improve your poor performance in class. Considering your poor grades I’m pretty sure that no one will think twice about it.”

With that, he turned away from the boy, without waiting for an answer and looked at the Headmaster with a distant expression. "Is there anything else you need me for, Headmaster?"

The old man looked at him with blue eyes that were missing the ever-present twinkle. "Thank you, Severus, this will be all." He replied politely and nodded. And Severus could not help but feel relieved, that he was finally allowed to stumble back into his own rooms. He had no doubt that he wouldn't be in the mood to read his Potion's article today. But at least he could use the seclusion of his chambers to sort out the variety of thoughts that were buzzing through his head because just like that his situation had gotten even more complicated and hopeless. But he also realized that he wasn't the most unlucky bastard in the room any longer. That position went to Harry Potter now and Severus realized that he really felt sorry for the boy. Nobody deserved such a fate, not even James Potter's son.

sssssssss

The three friends walked back into the Gryffindor common room in complete silence. Each one of them seemed to have their own shock to process and so they didn’t feel like talking very much. Hermione wouldn’t have thought it possible, but her life had just gotten even more complicated, and they weren’t even a month into the new school year.

Harry's condition scared her more than she would ever let him know. Having a part of Voldemort's soul inside him could have all sorts of terrible consequences. Who knew if You-Know-Who wouldn't even be able to control her friend with time, or to corrupt him so that he would turn against them. Or he could simply listen in to whatever went on around her friend, which wasn't a big problem as long as nothing exciting happened. But did their enemy already spy out the location of the headquarters of the Order? Or what would happen if Harry suddenly discovered the identity of the Open Link? Would Voldemort know?

They would have to be careful around Harry, no longer tell him things of importance and Hermione could already imagine how well this would sit with her temperamental friend. Harry hated to be excluded, to know that somebody withheld things from him on purpose. But that was exactly what they would have to do, wasn’t it? How long would their friendship survive all the secrets? And could she, as a muggle-born, even still feel safe in Harry’s presence?

"Merlin Hermione, I'm sorry for the detention," Harry said and threw himself into one of the empty wingback chairs that were standing close to the windows. For a moment Hermione hadn't even realized that they were already back in the common room, but when she looked around now she could see that almost all the seats were already occupied by busy Gryffindor students. Another look through the windows in front of her told her that evening was already approaching and that it couldn't be too long until dinner and her first detention with Snape afterwards. She sighed.

“It’s alright, Harry. It’s only for two weeks. Luckily I’ve already been working ahead, so it should interfere with my school work too much.”

Ron snorted before he stretched out on the sofa to Harry's left. "No, but it still means seeing the old bat every evening for two weeks. And I'm pretty sure he won't make it pleasant for you."

“No, I’m sure he won’t. He was pretty angry at me before,” Hermione agreed and combed her hand through her hair. “But I’m sure it’s nothing I can’t take. So don’t worry about me too much.” She put on a brave smile for them. "Anyway, I'll try to finish the essay for Professor Flitwick before dinner. See you later, boys." With that and a wave, Hermione retreated into her blissfully empty dorm. She didn't really have to finish the essay, as she had already done so yesterday, but she really needed some undisturbed time for herself. Because there was a lot she needed to think about.

It was barely two hours later when Hermione stood in front of Professor Snape's office. She didn't have much of an appetite during dinner as her stomach was still in tight knots and refused everything but dry bread and water. And even the few bites she had taken of that she had almost to force down her throat. But it wouldn't help her to sit in Snape's detention with a growling stomach.

She had barely knocked as the door already opened and a gloomy-looking Potions Professor stood in front of her with a foreboding smile on his lips and Hermione needed all her courage not to stumble a step back from him.

“Come in,” he said in his deep voice and turned around to retreat back into the room. Hermione swallowed heavily before she took a deep breath and followed him inside. She had never been to his office before but the place was everything she had expected to find when she entered a place that was regularly used by the grumpy Professor. All the furniture was of dark brown wood. Aside from a huge desk that was laden with countless papers and essays, there were two rather uncomfortable-looking chairs and numerous shelves that took up almost all the space along the walls. Some of them were filled with containers full of gruesome-looking potions ingredients but most of them held a large number of expensive and old books which Hermione would have loved to explore. But she was pretty sure that her teacher wouldn't be very forthcoming if she asked him to let her browse through his book collection. 

“Are you quite finished staring at my personal belongings, Miss Granger?” Professor Snape asked her with a dark expression. “Because I’d rather start with this detention of yours or otherwise I’ll be forced to endure your presence for even longer than two weeks.”

She nodded with clenched teeth. “Yes, Professor Snape, Sir,” she said as politely as she could manage. “What will I be doing for you today, Sir?”

For a moment the man in front of her didn’t answer and he could see that he was studying her with a somewhat dark expression. Whatever he was looking for, he must have found it, as his eyes suddenly left her person and he looked at one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Sit, Miss Granger. I’d like to have a little conversation with you first.”

She looked up at him in surprise. “As you wish, Sir.” Hermione didn't hesitate and picked the right chair for herself. There she folded her hands in her lap and waited until the Professor had taken his seat behind the desk. Hermione knew better than to address him, without being invited to do so and therefore she decided to wait until he told her about the task that he intended her to fulfil. 

"Well, Miss Granger," Professor Snape finally started and folded his hands in front of his chin. "I am pretty sure you are aware of the danger your little friend and therefore everyone associated with him is in. Having a part of somebody's soul inside oneself is never a good thing, no matter what other nonsense some romantic fools might spout. It is only a matter of time until the Dark Lord will be able to read Potter's thoughts and I wouldn't think it behind him that he could even use your friend to read the thoughts of people surrounding him as well." He looked at her with dark, unfathomable eyes and Hermione felt a shudder run down her spine.

"That's what I feared, Sir," she said and suddenly Hermione felt small and lost when she thought about what might lie in front of her and her friends. She didn't even know where to start if she wanted to drag them out of this mess and she could feel her shoulders getting heavy under this kind of liability.

“As you know I agreed to teach Mr Potter some degree of Occlumency and even though I am an excellent teacher in the field I doubt that your friend will be able to learn it very well from me. You might be aware that I am working as a double agent for the Order and therefore I’ll have to keep up my façade as the Dark Lord’s loyal servant.”

Hermione stared at the man with wide eyes. Why was he telling her all this? She wasn’t even a member of the Order, yet. But she kept her mouth shut and concentrated on Professor Snape’s words, as she knew he must have a good reason for telling her those things.

"At the moment we do not know if the Dark Lord is even aware of the connection between him and Mister Potter and therefore able to read his thoughts. But I have no doubt that it will be only a matter of time and therefore we all need to be very careful what we do in Mr Potter’s presence.”

Hermione nodded mutely and stared at her Professor. But her throat felt suddenly dry and even if she would have known what to say at that, she probably wouldn’t have been able to manage more than a few hoarse words.

“Therefore I will not be able to teach your friend properly, as it would endanger my position as a spy and I really cannot afford to risk that.”

“You’re not teaching him, Sir? But you said that…” She didn’t get any further, as the man just interrupted her mid-sentence.

"I said I would teach him, yes. But I won't be able to teach him well enough to learn something that would only be a little useful. Nonetheless, your friend still needs to learn to defend himself, which is the reason you are now sitting here with me, Miss Granger." 

Something flashed behind the Professor’s dark eyes and suddenly Hermione felt like a deer in the headlights. Her heart started to flutter nervously in her chest and she had to wipe her clammy hands on her robe, as she contemplated what she had just been told. “You want to teach me Occlumency instead, in the hope that I can teach Harry," she summarized her thoughts and stared at the man in shock. “But, this detention is only going for two weeks and until yesterday I didn’t even know that such a magical discipline even exists.”

But Professor Snape didn't seem worried in the least and looked at her with confidence, that spoke of years of experience. "I will assign you a lot of homework, Miss Granger. I won't lie to you. These will most likely be the worst two weeks of your life, as we don't have the luxury of doing this slowly. I will give you this evening to read through a book that will explain the basics to you. You will not be allowed to take it with you, after leaving this office, so I encourage you to make sure you have everything memorized before you close this door behind you." Professor Snape studied her with his dark, almost black eyes and Hermione could feel goosebumps starting to spread on her skin. "Tomorrow we will start your training. For that, I will have to try to break into your mind, which will not be pleasant, to put it mildly. Most likely you will not be able to keep anything hidden from me for the first days and I have no doubt this will be at least a humiliating if not a violent experience for you. But it’s the only way to teach you the required techniques.”

Hermione nodded and looked at her Professor with wide eyes. She could feel her body shaking all over and she was pretty sure that the man could sense her fear and uneasiness quite easily. But luckily he refrained from commenting on it. “What if I do have secrets that I don’t want to be exposed, Sir?” she asked in an uneasy, small voice but she forced herself to look him into the eyes as she did so. “I didn’t lie when I told you, that I can’t tell you where I brewed the Draught of Insight, sir. I gave my word, Sir and I don’t want to break it.”

The man in front of her sighed. "It is your decision, Miss Granger. You can, of course, decide to use these two weeks to clean cauldrons and prepare potions ingredients for me. But I would strongly advise you against it."

Hermione nodded. She knew that she didn’t really have a choice on that matter as Harry would have to learn to defend his mind as fast as possible and being able to teach him was worth almost every price. She sighed. “Could you… could you at least promise, that you will not act on the knowledge you discover from my mind, Sir? I don’t care about my personal secrets, but please don’t start punishing others, for sharing their secrets with me.”

Hermione knew she wasn't in the position to ask this of him, but she had to try anyway. And she was rewarded for it when her teacher looked at her with a tired but slightly amused expression. "You are a loyal friend, Miss Granger. Very well, I will promise you, that nothing I learn from your mind will leave this room. Any other concerns?”

She shook her head with a grateful smile. "No Sir, thank you, Sir."

"Very well," Professor Snape said and slid an old-looking, leather-bound book across his desk. "I'm sure I don't have to remind you to be careful with this. Take as much time reading it today, as you need. I will supply you with a note if you decide to leave my office after curfew."

He lazily waved his wand and without him uttering a single word, the chair to her left transformed into a cosy looking, dark-green armchair. “Now read, Miss Granger. But I must ask you to refrain from asking your millions of questions until tomorrow. Today I am quite busy, as you see.”

Hermione looked at him with a hesitant expression and nodded. She could have sworn, that there was a scientific article in front of him, something about poisons and potions, but she surely wouldn’t be stupid enough to ask him about it. She really didn’t want to stress her luck any further today.


	11. Everything I do for you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my lovely readers. Thank you for your ongoing support and encouragement. I love reading all your comments and thoughts. Here's another chapter for you. I hope you like it.
> 
> A big thank you to Multilingualism for betaing another chapter!

"Oi, where's Hermione?" Fred couldn't help but ask when he sighted his brother and Harry together on one of the sofas in the Common Room. Hermione was nowhere in sight though, which was quite atypical at this time of the day. It wasn't rare that the girl spent her afternoons in the library, but after dinner, she could usually be found with her friends doing homework, but not so today. Fred had seen her during dinner in the Great Hall but in stark contrast to yesterday evening, when her face glowed with excitement and happiness, she almost looked grey and depressed while she pushed her food around on her plate without eating it. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that there was something wrong with his witch and he was determined to find out what it was.

“She’s in detention with Snape,” Ron replied sourly from his spot on the sofa, where he scribbled on one of the essays that were most likely due tomorrow. 

“Detention? What did she do?” George asked next to him in a curious tone.

Ron and Harry looked at each other for a moment, but finally, Harry shrugged nonchalantly and Ron said: "She brewed a potion as you might know. Snape asked her which place she used for it, as he was convinced that one would need a fully equipped lab for getting a drinkable result. Hermione refused to answer him, though."

Fred snorted, even though his insides warmed at the realization that Hermione rather went into detention than betraying their trust. Not that he had expected anything else from his favourite witch, but it was nice to see his trust confirmed. “Oh my, I can see how the old bat didn’t like that at all,” he finally said with an amused grin. But his little brother didn’t seem to find it funny at all.

“He wasn’t. He gave her detention for  _ two weeks _ , can you imagine?” Ron complained and Harry only nodded, before he continued brooding on the sofa. What was it with those boys today?

“That’s hard,” George replied almost solemnly. “But Hermione ‘s a big girl. She will be fine. And it’s not like he can do much worse with her then letting her scrub cauldrons and slice flobberworms, right?”

They all nodded in unison, totally oblivious to the fact that Snape could indeed do much more to Hermione than just that.

sssssssss

It was a reckless plan to teach the girl Occlumency in two weeks, but it was all Severus had for now. He couldn't have justified more detention in front of Minerva and Albus and as it was in his interest that his doings remained a secret, for now, he'd make do with what he had. But it would be a close call, even if he brought the girl to her limits, which he already decided would be necessary. She'd probably hate him afterwards if she didn't already do so anyway, but Severus had never particularly cared about what others thought of him. He would do what was necessary to protect the girl and Potter if the boy could even be protected from his fate. That remained to be seen.

Well, Miss Granger was at least motivated and possessed a certain degree of intelligence, which was a blessing in their situation. She followed his instruction to a tee and after she had positioned herself in the armchair he provided for her, she didn't say a word until she finished reading through the book around midnight. He wondered if she would give up halfway through, as he could see that she was hungry and tired after having sat with him for three hours. But Hermione Granger didn't complain and just shifted her position before she kept reading on. When she finally slipped away from his office, she did so with wishing him a good night politely but without making a big fuss. Hell, if the girl was this silent and disciplined in class, he could have almost started to like her.

It was seven on the dot the next day when the knock sounded at his office door and without many words he invited her in. She looked a bit better than yesterday, even though there were dark circles under her eyes and she was obviously nervous, as she kept gnawing on her bottom lip while she looked at him with big brown eyes. “Good evening, Professor Snape,” she greeted him with a neutral voice and followed him into his office. There he could see her eyes travel towards his book collection before she forced them back on his person. Well, at least he tried to reign her curiosity in.

“Sit,” he invited her and motioned towards the armchair that was still left from their last session. He hadn’t taken the effort to transfigure it back, as he already knew that they would need it again today. “Well, Miss Granger, tell me how much you understood from reading the book I provided for you.”

The girl nodded enthusiastically and straightened in front of him before she said: "From what I gathered, Occlumency is more about mental discipline than about magical potential. It somehow reminds me of meditation, combined with different visualisation techniques that can be used, to store knowledge or memories within the mind."

He nodded mutely and gave her a sign to go on and she did so without complaint. “I once read about a similar technique that is used to enhance the capacity of your memory and I found this approach quite fascinating. What I don’t understand is, how best to protect the memories, once they are stored in the mind accordingly. Is this about distraction? Or is there an effective way to improve one’s mental defences that makes the invasion of the mind difficult, in the first place?”

“A skilled Occlumens uses both ways to protect the memories important to him. My mind is regularly invaded by the Dark Lord himself, as he is not the most trusting of men. I am only still alive because I let him find memories and thoughts of me being his most loyal servant and hide all the others that say otherwise." Severus couldn't hide the small smile gracing his lips as he saw the expression of surprise on Miss Granger's face. "But if somebody else encounters a Legillimentic attack, a more upfront approach might serve him better. It always depends on the person's character and mental abilities."

The girl nodded and continued gnawing on her bottom lip. He could see that it was already bleeding in one place and he had to hold himself back to not scold her for it. If Miss Granger liked to hurt herself, it wasn’t his business, after all.

“I see,” she finally said and looked at him hesitantly. “What if I tried to build a huge place in my mind, where it is simply impossible to find the memories you are looking for. Could that work?”

He weighed his head in consideration. “It could. But it would need a lot of concentration and mental exercise to do so. It isn’t just about building the place and storing the memories, Miss Granger. Could you still keep your mental image upright under torture or strong mental pressure?”

The little witch stared at him with wide, shocked eyes. “Torture? I… I am aware that these lessons aren’t just about helping Harry, as I can also get a lot of use out of them. But do you really expect it to get that bad?”

Severus looked at her with a serious expression. "If what I think is true, then the Dark Lord is even more powerful than we so far expected. Killing him will be at least difficult if not almost impossible. Let me be frank with you: I think this war is going to get very ugly very soon. You are a muggle-born, Miss Granger and Harry Potter's friend at that. If the Death Eaters ever manage to get you into their fingers, then expect to be raped, tortured and finally killed. I have seen it countless times, Miss Granger. In the last war, there have been hundreds of Muggles and countless muggle-borns. It was always the same, none of them escaped.”

For a moment he feared that he had broken her as she simply sat motionlessly on her armchair and stared into the distance. There wasn't a single muscle moving in her face, not even to torture her poor lip any further. But finally, she snapped out of her trance and looked at him with determination in her eyes. "Alright, thank you for being honest with me, Professor. I really do appreciate it." She nodded and looked at him with an almost shy smile. "I don't have any more questions, Sir. If there is nothing else you want to tell me then I am ready to start."

“ _ Always so eager _ ,” he thought without saying it out aloud. Instead he just nodded and took out his wand from his sleeve. “As you wish. I advise you to stay seated for now as it is common to lose balance under a mental attack very easily. And I expect you don't want to find yourself on the floor." He smirked and fixed her brown eyes. "Brace yourself, girl.”

He saw Miss Granger stiffen on the chair and grab the armrests with both hands. He granted her a moment to collect herself before he cast the spell to enter her mind. She made it easy for him, as she kept eye contact and so it didn't take much of his concentration to sink into the brown orbs and plunge into her mind. He had expected to find the chaos that was so common for hormonal teenagers, but instead, he found himself in a small muggle bedroom that was most likely her own. Interesting. He took his time to look around and noted the neatly-made bed and the delightful absence of pink and other optically insulting colours that could have been expected in a teenage girl’s bedroom. There were no stuffed animals, no sappy posters or anything else he would have expected and instead there were neutral beige walls, a huge desk and several shelves that were filled to the brim with books. The desk was laden with scientific equipment, a computer and several notebooks. Huh. The girl had really managed to organize her mind in what? 12 hours? Or had she already started these mental exercises before? Before he knew what he was doing he strolled over to the desk and grabbed one of the notebooks, but when he opened them it was like staring into a muggle TV, as he was suddenly sucked into a whole different scene. There was the girl and the Weasley-twins. They were playing some sort of water ball-game and he could clearly feel the admiration the girl felt for the mischievous redheads. Really? Well, this was unexpected. He forced himself to watch the scene a moment longer and he caught a glimpse of what must have been the girl’s parents, before he decided that it was enough and he retreated from her mind.

It was just in time, as she looked like had almost slid from her chair. Her whole body was sagged sideways before she recovered from his mental attack. "Ugh," she moaned and shook her head in confusion before she pulled herself upright again and looked at him in defeat. "Well, that wasn't very successful I guess."

But he just looked at her with a raised brow. “No? You kept your focus on your mental image under mental assault. That was more than I expected on the first attempt. You just made it too easy for me to find something interesting. Do you want to try again?”

The bushy-haired witch nodded with determination. “Of course, Sir. We only have two weeks, after all, and I am determined to use them to learn as much as I can. And I’m sure if it gets too much, you have a headache potion hidden somewhere in your desk.”

He snorted at her cheek. Was this really the same girl that had grated on his nerves for years? “Probably. I'm sure I'll need it when I am finished watching all your teenage fantasies," he replied dryly and just as he had anticipated he saw the colour rise in her cheeks. It was enough to paint another smile on his face. Well, maybe these two weeks wouldn't turn out to be as tedious as he had expected, after all.

sssssssss

It was past midnight when Hermione finally made it back into the common room. She was beyond exhausted and her head still felt like it had turned into a beehive with hundreds of little striped inhabitants, even though Professor Snape had kindly handed her a Headache Potion after three hours of Occlumency training. She hated having him in her mind, having him sniff out every secret or embarrassing memory she had so carefully tried to hide from him. She was pretty sure there wasn't much more for him to find out by now and Hermione could only hope that he would keep his promise and not go after the twins because of their secret lab. It had taken him some time to find the memory, as Hermione had chosen to hide it in the bottom row in her bookshelf, but of course, he had found it anyway. She needed a bigger place to store her memories and more importantly, more unimportant memories to distract whoever tried to break into her mind. She already had an idea what she wanted to achieve in the end, but would she have the mental discipline to do it? Well, it wasn't like she had much of a choice anyway. From what Professor Snape told her, it was only a matter of time, until the Death Eaters came for her. And she would be damned if she wouldn't be prepared for that.

“Look who’s finally made it back from detention with our favourite dungeon-bat,” a casual voice surprised her, as she was just about to climb up the stairs to the girls’ dorms. When she hastily turned around she saw Fred and George lounge on one of the sofas close to the fireplace and look at her with a matching smile on their faces.

“Fred? George? You’re up late…” she said weakly and stared at them with a tired expression. She really didn’t feel like having another rollercoaster-ride of emotions tonight, but that was exactly what happened every time she started talking to them.

"We waited for you to see if you're alright," George replied and was on his feet a second later. In five big strides, he was at her side and his brother wasn't far behind. “Did Snape keep you with him for that long?”

Hermione groaned inwardly. There was no escaping them today, she realised, not if she didn’t want to be unfriendly and leave them there without an answer. “Yeah,” she replied weakly and her lips morphed into a tired smile. “He’s got a lot of work for me, I guess. But that’s alright, it’s worth it.”

“We really appreciate that you are keeping our secret,” Fred said in a low voice and before she knew what happened, he took her hand into his. “If you need anything and if it’s just somebody to cheer you up, let me know, alright?”

Her mouth went dry as she felt his thumb slowly trace the knuckles of her hand while he looked at her with huge brown eyes. For a moment she wanted to snatch her hand back, but after a moment of hesitation, she simply allowed herself to enjoy his attentions and relaxed. "Thank you, Fred."

"How about we treat you to a new book on Saturday?" George asked with a kind smile and glowing eyes. "It's only one more day until then and you could spend your next detention thinking about which one you'd like."

Hermione could feel the blush creeping up on her again. “ _ Which one I like, huh _ ?” she thought and started chewing on her already swollen bottom lip. “ _ Well, that’s the problem, isn’t it? It’s impossible for me to decide _ .” And by that Hermione didn't mean books at all. Merlin, maybe she should just tell them, that this was a bad idea. She felt more and more like they were wooing her, but was it fair to give them both hope, if there could only be one in the end? Maybe she should just forget about the both of them and direct her confused teenage hormones to somebody else… "Yeah, this would definitely make the hours until the weekend more bearable," she heard herself say instead and groaned inwardly. "But you really don't have to buy me anything. I'm sure we'll have a nice afternoon no matter what."

Instantly she was awarded a sunny smile from both. "I'm sure we will," Fred agreed and pressed her hand softly before he finally let go of her. And Hermione noted that her hand felt cold without his touch, all of a sudden.

“See you on Saturday, then?” she asked and looked at Fred and George with a shy smile.

“Sure,” they said and beamed at her with matching expressions. Whom was she kidding anyway? She was too far gone for these two pranksters to even consider somebody else right now, even though she was pretty sure that having feelings for both of them could only end in a disaster.


	12. The perfect solution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was kindly betaed by Multilingualism. Thank you, my friend!

„Well Freddy, how do we want to do this?“ George asked his twin while they were readying themselves for their trip to Hogsmead. The weekend was finally there and as Hermione had to be back for her detentions with Snape in time, she had agreed to already meet them at 10 to start their trip to the village early. "Should we split up and divide the time with Hermione equally between us? Or should we just go all together?"

It was the question that had been in his head for days but George had to realize, that he himself simply couldn’t find an answer to it.

"Good question, Georgie," Fred answered while he pulled one of their mum's knitted jumpers over his head. The brothers didn't mind wearing them at all, even though Ron always pulled a face when he received another one. But George always saw how much time their mum invested in making them and when one had six other siblings, then each minute his mum invested in him was a special gift. And so he wore his sweaters with pride, as did Fred. “I think the question is, what we want from this date. Do we just want her to get to know us better? Or do we hope for a snog or a cuddle?”

George snorted. "Oh, I really wouldn't mind a good snog. The question is if we wouldn't scare Hermione away if we attempted something like that today."

Fred hummed in agreeance. “Yeah, she’s been kind of skittish around us, hasn’t she? It’s like she’s about to bolt from the room any second, but then she never does.”

George combed his hair with his hands and nodded. “Yeah. We’re probably a bit much for her. So what do we do? Should we just test the waters and give her some more time to get to know us?”

His brother shrugged. “Couldn’t hurt, I guess. And it’s not like we’re in a hurry, right? Luckily the rest of the school are idiots that can’t see what they are missing out.”

He chuckled. "Good for us, I guess. Well then, in this case, I suppose we can as well stay together. Didn't feel like going without you anyway."

Fred answered him with a clap on the back. “Awwww Georgie, one day you’ll have to get used to leaving me alone with a girl, at least from time to time.” He winked at him.

“Yeah right,” George replied with a snort. “The day you’ll marry will be the darkest day of my life, brother mine. But this day is not today.” With that, he gave his brother a slight shove towards the door. “And now out with you. I’m almost sure there’s a pretty girl waiting for you.”

“And for you, brother,” Fred replied with a wide grin. “And for you.”

ssssssss

Hermione didn’t feel like going out at all. The week had been a brutal one and with brewing Harry’s potion, spending an afternoon in Dumbledore’s office and having detention with Snape every evening from there on, there hadn’t been much time left for her homework. And Hermione's fingers and brain itched to get started with this, but of course, she had to keep the promise she had given George and Fred, even if it meant that she would have to do a nightshift if he wanted to be able to finish everything until Monday.

Fred and George had agreed to meet her in the entrance hall and much to her surprise both of them were already there and waited for her with a wide smile.

"Hello, Hermione," George greeted her casually while he kept his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket. "I'm glad you could make it. I'm sure you're awfully busy with all those detentions but you also look like you really need a break.”

Hermione nodded wistfully and halted in front of them. "Yeah, I'm so much behind in my homework. I'll probably have to do some of it tonight after I finished my detention, but that's alright. I can survive with a little less sleep for a while." She smiled weakly at them.

“We’ll worry about your homework later, Hermione. Come, let’s go, then we’ll have the village almost to ourselves.” Fred offered her his hand and wiggled his fingers in invitation. A moment later George did the same on her other side and smiled encouragingly. For a moment she just stared at them and she could already feel her heartbeat speed up with something that felt like panic, but finally, she forced herself to take a calming breath and took the offered hands into hers. And promptly she was awarded a happy smile and an encouraging squeeze of her hand from her redheads.

“Alright, you two, where do we want to go first?” Fred asked and started walking. Hermione easily fell into step with him and it was just a moment before the fresh autumn breeze welcomed her outside.

"I don't know, boys. It was your idea to drag me along," Hermione replied with a shrug. "As long as I can stock up on some writing materials and look through the bookstore I'm alright."

Fred snorted before he looked at her with twinkling eyes and a smile. “Don’t worry. We’ll go there first and afterwards Georgie and I need to make a quick stop at Zonko’s. But don’t worry Hermione, it will only be a few minutes.”

She laughed. “You really don’t need to stress yourself. If I was with Harry and Ron I’d at least spent half an hour in there. And I really don’t mind…”

"We know you don't," George assured her and stroked the knuckles of her hand with his thumb. "But today is about having fun and fun we'll have. Fred and I are so-called experts in that area."

“Which means that you are in capable hands,” Fred finished for him and grinned. Hermione blushed. Why did her mind convert almost everything they said into something else? She  _ knew _ what they meant, so why did she suddenly have to think about them and their hands in a totally different context? Fred could bury them into her hair and play with her curls while he… no, stop… she really needed to focus.

“I never doubted your talent for having fun, boys, quite the contrary actually,” Hermione hastily replied and smiled.

“Don’t tell us you’re afraid of having too much fun,” Fred grinned just as they had reached the small footpath, which would lead them down to the village. “Because there isn’t such a thing as too much fun.” Hermione smiled. She always enjoyed the view she had from this spot, but especially today. Autumn was already in full swing by now and so the sun painted the forest around them in vibrant yellow, orange and red. It was beautiful! And suddenly she was happy that the twins had forced her to go outside today, even though she would probably regret that decision later.

“If you say so,” she finally said to Fred with a little smile.

“Absolutely,” he replied, let go of her hand and put his arm around her back instead. “And George and I are going to prove it to you today. You’ll see.”

Not even an hour later the three of them were finished with all the errands they had to run in the village. The twins had made quick work at Zonko’s and only purchased a few items each, which totally surprised her. But when she asked them after it, they just smiled and said that they preferred using their own products by now and that the things they purchased were only meant for research. Hermione could already imagine how those two would retreat into their little secret lab and do just that. And for a moment she wanted nothing more than being at her side and doing just that. But of course, the thought was ridiculous. Why should she do such a thing? She didn’t even like pranking people. But the emotion was there, she could almost see herself at their side tinkering with one of their products when she closed her eyes, and the thought of doing so warmed her chest and made her heart beat with happiness. She could only blame the crush she had developed on the twins for it.

“What’s next?” she asked in the hope to distract herself from those thoughts. George’s hand was back in hers before she knew it and he pulled her towards the border of the village with a promising smile.

“I’d say we eat something. I don’t know how it’s for you Hermione, but I’m starving,” he said and his brother grinned with a nod.

She slowed her steps in confusion. “But shouldn’t we head in this direction, then? I told you I’m not setting a foot into Madam Puddifoots with the two of you…”

Fred grinned. “Then it’s good that this is not where we are going. George and I thought something a bit more private might be better.”

Hermione blushed, of course she did. She should have gotten used to her overactive imagination by now, but obviously, that was just a hopeless wish. "What's wrong with the Three Broomsticks?" she asked hastily and realized that her voice sounded a bit high and funny while doing so. The twins didn’t seem to mind though and instead just looked at her with a happy smile.

“Nothing in particular. But usually, it's full and noisy at this time of the day and I at least feel like I'd prefer a chance to rest and talk for a bit," George answered and pulled her around a corner and past Madam Puddifoot’s. Suddenly they were in a part of the village Hermione hadn’t been to before. Somewhere to her left was the Hog’s Head, a dingy, dirty pub that Hermione and her friends had always avoided and then, a few minutes of walking further, they suddenly left the last houses of the village behind them.

“Errr, boys? Are we even allowed to be here?” she asked them and slowed her steps down uneasily. But the redheads didn’t seem worried in the least and just grinned at her.

“Don’t worry Mione, we’re still in Hogsmeade and it’s just around this corner,” Fred promised and pulled her closer against him. Somehow his arm was now permanently draped around her back and after a while, Hermione had slowly gotten used to the feeling and started to enjoy this show of affection. And so she let him pull her with him, even though the nervous flutter was back in her chest. But it was forgotten, when they followed the little footpath around a corner and a little meadow that was surrounded with beautiful autumn trees appeared ahead of them. 

"That's beautiful," she said and stared at the spot in awe. "Do you… is this where we're going?"

“Yupp,” Fred confirmed with a grin and a wave of his wand later a large blanket appeared in front of them in the grass. “Sit down, love. You look like you could use a little break.”

He didn’t need to tell her twice. It was only a moment until she let herself fall on the back and stared into the sky with a happy sigh. There were only a few clouds and even though temperatures had slowly started to drop it was a brilliant, sunny day. Almost perfect for a…

“Did you guys really bring a picnic basket?” she asked with wide eyes, as she saw the two of them unpack several sandwiches, butterbeer and fruits in front of her. “How?”

"The Hogwarts house-elves have a soft spot for us and with the help of some shrinking and stasis charms, it wasn't a big deal at all," Fred replied with a shrug before he pulled a plate of biscuits out of the basket that had somehow appeared to her left. And somehow this plate of biscuits and the look on Fred’s face as he placed it next to her just made her realize that for them, this really was some sort of date.

Hermione panicked and hastily pulled herself up into a sitting position. "Why did you two invite me on a date?" she asked and fixed the plate with biscuits with her eyes like they could provide the answer instead. "I… I mean I do have an idea why just… what do you expect me to do? It's… you're two and obviously…" she gesticulated wildly through the air, as the right words simply refused to come. But Hermione hoped Fred and George would be able to understand her anyway.

It was George who caught one of her hands first and grabbed them with both of his hands. “We don’t expect anything from you today, Hermione. There’s really no reason for you to panic right now,” he assured her and looked at her with warm, brown eyes. Fred suddenly appeared next to him sitting on his legs and stared at her with a reassuring smile on his lips.

“Yeah. We know that only one of us can have you if you'll even agree to that, but don't worry Hermione. It’s fine, we talked about it. We told you we don’t fight and we meant it.”

George nodded. "Today is just about getting to know each other a bit better and who knows? Maybe you won't like any of us at the end of the day and we'll just continue being friends or whatever…"

Hermione stared at them in disbelief. For a moment the panic that had started taking hold of her, was totally forgotten as her mind comprehended, what they were just saying. “But you both want to … date me? In the end, you want me to decide, right?"

They nodded eagerly and somehow Hermione had to close her eyes to keep her emotions in check.

"It doesn't need to be today Hermione or even next month. You can take as much time as you need," Fred assured her calmly. "I know it's not easy to…"

But he didn’t get any further, because suddenly the words just wanted out. “To what? Tell you apart? Don’t be ridiculous, you know I can  _ always _ tell who’s who. I  _ know _ you two are different, that’s totally not the point.” 

She slowly opened her eyes, as she felt a hand on her chin and she saw that Fred had taken hold of it to tilt it up. Then he stared at her with an intensity that made her heart beat in her throat. “Then what  _ is _ the point, Hermione? Just tell us, love.” 

Hermione stared at him for a long moment, but no matter how hard she thought, there was no easy or not embarrassing way of saying this. “I  _ do _ like you already,  _ both _ of you. I know it’s ridiculous and I’m not sure how it happened but the fact is, I could  _ never _ decide, I don't want to. But of course, I know that I can't have you both. It's not fair to you and most likely not even legal."

Fred and George looked at her with a dumbstruck look in their faces and for a moment the three of them just stared at each other in silence. But finally, George started moving again and scratched his head with a sheepish look on his face. "Well, that isn't what I expected," he admitted and smiled.

“Yeah,” Fred agreed with a disbelieving laugh. “I know we are both charming, but…”

Hermione couldn’t help but silence him with a mild slap on his leg. ”Oh stop it, Fred. It’s really not funny, not for me. I’m kind of freaking out a bit, to be honest.” She rubbed her face. "For me, this has been going on for weeks and I just couldn't make it stop and I know it's not normal but… arrrgh!”

“Alright, sorry,” Fred apologized with a chastised voice. “I didn’t know that it bothers you like this.” He sighed and somehow this sound made her sadder than anything else could have.

"It's alright, sorry. I really didn't want to freak out in front of you. And I'm sorry if I kind of ruined the mood," she looked at the large assembly of food in front of them with a grimace. "I just thought that I really needed to clear things up, because leading both of you on like this just isn't fair."

They nodded solemnly.

"I guess not," George admitted and carefully took her hand. "So what shall we do? Toss a coin?" Hermione knew that he was probably trying to pull a joke to make her smile, but she really didn't feel like it at all at the moment. Instead, she sighed and gently pressed his hand.

"No, because this still would leave one of you hurt as he'd be forced to see the other two of us together. And I just don't want to do that.“ Hermione looked at them with pleading eyes.

“Then what?” Fred asked and looked at her with an expression that told her, he already knew what was coming next. Still, she took his right hand with her unoccupied one and looked at him with a sad smile.

“We forget about this," she said and it felt like her heart broke at her own words. Hopefully, theirs wasn't hurting as much as hers. "Let's just try to be friends instead, Okay? I know it's not what you wanted but there's really nothing else we can do."

For a moment they didn't answer but Hermione could have sworn that there was some sort of silent communication going on between them. She waited in patience while her eyes drifted back and forth between them and she took in all of the details of their faces because it was probably the last chance for her to do so. There was a freckle behind Fred's left ear that she hadn't noticed until now and George's hair just started to curl ever so slightly in his neck, now that he started wearing it longer.

"I can't believe we've just been turned down, Georgie," Fred finally said with a humoured smile on his lips. "But I guess there's always a first time." He grinned at her before he pulled her into a bone-crushing embrace. When he let go of her again a moment later, George stared at her with warm, brown eyes.

“You’re not losing us over this, Hermione. But I guess you’re right. Every other path would just bring sorrow and heartbreak, for at least one of us. And I must confess that it makes me like you even more, that you’re refusing to do that to us. Freddie ‘s got a tender heart, even though he’d never admit it.”

It only took a moment, before Fred delivered a friendly punch on his arm as an answer. "Oh, stop it, brother. We don't want our Hermione to get a false impression of us.” With that, he winked at her before he positioned himself more casually on the blanket and offered her the plate with biscuits with a grin.

“Take one, Hermione. Because I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

She blinked at him in confusion. “You… want to continue the picnic? You’re not mad or something?”

But Fred just looked at her with a boyish smile in his eyes. “Nope. We're still friends and that's great, isn't it? And as friends, we are going to have a picnic now. We promised that you'd enjoy that day, right? So take one and then let's relax."

George nodded encouragingly and snatched himself a sandwich before he lied down next to her and started to eat. "Sounds like a brilliant idea, brother."

Hermione looked at them for a moment longer, before she finally shook her head with a smile of disbelief. It really looked like they were okay with her suggestion to just be friends. She should feel relieved now, shouldn’t she? So why didn’t she? Stopping this nonsense, before one of them got hurt, really was the best idea, because otherwise there would only be more heartbreak and pain in front of them. So why didn’t she feel relieved that they had finally come clear? She could move on now and these ridiculous feelings could finally come to an end, which was a good thing right? But it totally didn’t feel like it.

“Yeah, absolutely brilliant,” Hermione finally agreed and took a biscuit for herself. She guessed she’d just have to get used to this new relationship with them. Because being friends was a good thing, it was, in fact, the perfect solution, her heart just needed to realize that, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you don't like this. But think about it. They're all so young and the won't simply start a triad. If they really go that way, then they all need a bit more tie to realize, that this is what they want.


	13. Blackout

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was betaed by my friend Multilingualism. Thank you so much for your help!

Potter’s first Occlumency lesson was a disaster, very much like Severus had intended it to be. Severus didn’t even have to make much of an effort to alienate the boy, as their dislike for each other was mutual and Potter really had a bad temper on top of that. It would have been difficult to teach him some mental discipline in the first place and he really didn’t envy the Granger girl that she would be the one who’d have to do it in the end. But the girl had the patience of a saint and had the bonus of being his friend, so if there was anybody who could give the boy a chance to defend his mind then it was her.

"Come in, Miss Granger," he told her, as she knocked at his door right in time. She was never late, never unfriendly or disrespectful towards him, even though he hadn't coddled her and commented on every embarrassing memory he found, just to let her feel some sort of consequence of not being able to protect her secrets accordingly.

"Good evening, Professor Snape," Miss Granger greeted him back and entered his room. Something was different about her today, he realized immediately and he didn't mean it in a good way. The girl seemed even more tired than usual and her whole demeanour seemed sad and wound up at the same time. Well, but as long as it didn’t influence her concentration during their lesson, he didn’t really care. He’d already had his share of teenage drama during the last weeks.

“Let’s see about that, shall we, Miss Granger? Your friend really managed to grate on my patience today and I’m sure he’ll be complaining about his lessons with me later on.”

The girl sighed tiredly but didn't comment. Instead, she walked to her assigned armchair and sunk into it with a huff of resignation. Well, obviously Severus wasn’t the only one having a shitty day and he was just about to make it worse for her.

“Brace yourself, Miss Granger,” he warned and only a second later he started to cast. By now he had gotten used to the girl’s mind and he was prepared to find himself back in her neat bedroom, from where he would usually start exploring all the new rooms she had added to it day by day. But if he had ever had a question about her mental condition then it was answered when he took in the chaos that waited for him in her head. It was like a tornado had raged in the place, as all books and papers were strewn on the floor and some pages were even torn out of them. For a moment he looked at the picture in speechlessness and he had to remind himself, that this was just a mental image and there was no reason to scold the girl for wracking her bookshelf. Where should he even start in this mess? Should he try one of the other rooms instead or would he find the same amount of devastation there? He carefully stepped outside her bedroom and peeked down the wide hallway that led to another large library and her parent's bedroom, as he knew by now. But nothing seemed amiss there and so he decided to inspect the chaos behind him instead. If there was a reason for the girl's mental breakdown then it surely could be found here. And wasn't that a worthy goal for today's Occlumency training?

He turned around and lowered himself to the floor. The first book he picked up was a copy of "History of Hogwarts" and when he opened it he had to realize that it really was just that. Had the girl really memorized the whole book for god's sake? He started reading and really, he could have sworn that the text was almost identical to what he remembered from his own copy and he couldn't help being fascinated. But just as he was about to start reading another page, the whole scenery suddenly shifted and everything around him turned black. Suddenly there was nothing, not the room, not the books but not even the usual disarray and flood of pictures he found when he entered an untrained mind. Instead, there was just darkness around him and nothing else. That shouldn’t have happened, Severus thought and with a feeling of uneasiness, he decided to leave her mind. It wasn't a moment too soon, he realized because when he searched for her he found her on the floor next to his armchair. Never before she had fallen off and when he stepped closer he realized that she must simply have passed out and lost consciousness. Hastily Severus kneeled down next to her, felt her pulse and checked the reaction of her eyes. Miss Granger had really passed out with him still being in her mind, which had never happened before or never should have happened at all. But there was not much he could do for her now and so he simply decided to prop up her legs and monitor her. For a moment he even considered taking her to the infirmary but he could only imagine what would happen, if it became known, that Miss Granger had passed out during detention with him. The gossip it would lead to would be an absolute nightmare to deal with and he was pretty sure that the girl would be forbidden to return to another detention with him. But their lessons were far from finished and so this had to be avoided at all costs. Luckily he was quite well-stocked with potions and was very well versed with healing charms as well. And so he was pretty sure that there wasn’t much Poppy would do, that he wasn’t able to do himself for his student.

He cast a simple monitoring charm over her and studied the results with furrowed brows. The girl's energy levels were dangerously low and they were continuing to fall even further, even though she should definitely be recovering by now. For Merlin's sake, the girl was resting on his floor but still, her magic seemed to trickle out of her like someone had just pulled a stopper or something. But that shouldn’t even be possible until... could it be that Hermione Granger was the Open Link? He cursed before he cast another monitoring charm on her and then another. There was nothing physically wrong with her apart from a slight deficit on nutrition, which was most likely due to the fact that the girl had skipped some meals to be able to keep up with her homework. But apart from that, she was fine and as there was no spell for directly showing the state of her magical core, his theory with the Open Link was the only explanation right now and he'd have to stick with it until he had proof. 

Severus took a deep breath. Alright, that was not the right moment for him to lose his nerves. He would have enough time to go over the implications of this realisation later. But first, he had to save the girl, because if things went on like that there was no saying what would happen to her. No matter what he did, it would only be a temporary fix, as the girl obviously needed a linking partner soon. Severus dashed from his room into his lab and summoned a variety of different restorative potions. It only took him seconds, before he was back at her side and gently forced the first one down her throat. It was followed by a second and third one before he made the quick decision to transfigure the sofa in his sitting room into a comfortable single bed and carry the girl towards it. He blocked the floo connection and carefully warded the door to his rooms, as he really wasn't keen on having any surprises, while he had a student in his rooms before he lifted her from the floor. She wasn't big or heavy by any means but without being conscious and supporting him, she was still a dead weight that made him regret not having levitated her. But Severus had the faint hope that the physical contact to him could help her body to feel grounded in some way but as he wasn’t completely sure how these things worked, he couldn’t know. The Dark Lord had been very brief with the information he gave him, barely enough to find the Open Link but not enough to know how one formed an attachment. The man was paranoid to the boot, after all, and even though Severus seemed to be trusted enough to search for the Open Link, he wasn't intended to claim it for himself. That was until fate had decided to make him an unexpected gift and place the sought out person right on his doorstep. He was pretty sure the girl didn't even know herself what was wrong with her and so he was pretty convinced that apart from him nobody had the faintest idea that Hermione Granger was, in fact, most likely the Open Link. One could call it a stroke of luck, or fate but to Severus, it looked like the tide was just about to turn. He had been dealt a shitty set of cards at the beginning of this game, but suddenly he had gotten his hands on a Joker. And Severus would be damned if he would let this chance slip away from him that easily. He was a Slytherin after all and as such he knew how to survive.

sssssssss

When Hermione awoke she felt as well-rested as she hadn't in weeks. The constant buzz in her head had somewhat faded into the background and the aching in her limbs, which had plagued her during the last days, was barely even noticeable any longer. She had almost felt good, if there wasn't this sudden emptiness in her chest that had befallen her, after having come clear with the twins. But she was sure she'd start feeling better with time when she'd finally finished her last lesson with Snape and had some more time to finish her work again.

“Have you finished napping on my sofa?” a well-known baritone pulled her out of her thoughts and her eyes fell open with a shocked gasp. Merlin, the last thing she remembered was having started another Occlumency lesson after having returned from her trip to Hogsmead but then… nothing. She cursed inwardly. Could it be that she fell asleep during the lesson? Snape would kill her or in the very least put her in detention until the end of the school year. 

The first thing she saw after she opened her eyes was him. Professor Snape still wore his dark, buttoned robes but he had lowered himself in a leathered armchair to her right. There he sat with an old-looking book in hands and watched her with a dangerously blank expression. She stared at him with wide, panicked eyes before she scrambled into a sitting position.

"I… I am sorry Professor Snape," she hastily apologized and looked around in panic. She was in a completely different room than before and even though the furniture was still held in dark wood combined with brown and green tones the place had a much more personal touch and was almost comfortable. There was a cosy fireplace to her left and several other bookshelves in the background of the room. On the floor, she could also see a fluffy, dark green carpet that somehow completed the look of the room rather nicely. Where in Merlin’s name was she? “I must have fallen asleep, Sir,” Hermione continued and forced herself to stay calm. It wouldn’t help her to panic in front of Professor Snape, as this would probably only make his mood worse.

“Indeed,” the man said with a calm expression and put his book aside. “Do you have any explanation for that little mishap, Miss Granger?”

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, but the anger she had feared was strangely absent from his features. “I… was tired, Sir. There wasn’t much time to sleep lately and…”

“And what?” he asked her with a curious expression and an inclined head.

Hermione closed her eyes in mortification. “It seems I couldn’t keep myself any longer awake. I’m so sorry, Sir. I swear I never before fell asleep in class, not  _ once.” _ She assured him desperately and looked at him with wide eyes. His were almost black, she noted and looked at her without blinking. 

"For the future, I expect you to be well-rested and fed before you meet me for your lessons in the evening," he finally said and fixed her with his eyes. “It is of no use if I am trying to teach you something and you’re barely able to keep your eyes open. Will that be a problem?”

Hermione sighed tiredly. She knew that she should simply tell him it would be fine, but if she was honest with herself, she didn’t know how much longer she could go on like this. The longer the school year went on, the more tired she got and the added stress of helping Harry out while taking Occlumency lessons didn’t really make it any easier. “I don’t know, Sir. I am already behind in my homework and I planned on doing one or two late-night sessions to try to catch up.”

He sighed before he shook his head. "That won't do, I fear. Do you want to cancel the lessons with me for now and use the time to catch up with your homework? You'd have to do so in my rooms, as you are still officially in detention, but as long as you don't disturb me with endless chatter there shouldn't be a problem with that."

Hermione looked at him with wide eyes and a heavy heart. Did he just… “You’ll no longer teach me Occlumency, Sir? But, what about Harry… I need to be able to help him.” Her voice sounded panicked but she didn’t care. The Professor needed to know that she didn’t want him to cancel her lessons, not even if it meant that she’d have to cut short on her homework. He seemed to read her thoughts as he shook his head with a sigh.

"And you will, Miss Granger, eventually. Your momentary knowledge on the topic should be enough to help him clear his mind and start with basic visualisation techniques. If my estimation is correct, it will take him weeks to even master that much, which gives us time for you to … recover. We could instead agree on meeting once a week to continue your lessons if you think you could fit it into your schedule."

For a moment Hermione simply could not believe her ears. Did Professor Snape really just try to find a solution, to make it easier for her? That was … unexpected. But she felt grateful nonetheless. "Absolutely, Sir. Thank you, Sir. I will not disappoint you again, Sir," she assured him hastily and Hermione could have sworn to see a small smile grace his lips. 

"Alright, Miss Granger," he agreed with a nod. "What about Friday evening? You'd be able to have a lie-in in the next morning to compensate for the lost hours of sleep. It is of no use if you run yourself to the ground in your attempt to help your friend." As he said those last words, Professor Snape's hand slightly touched her arm and he fixed her with his gaze. "You need to take better care of yourself, do you hear me?"

She nodded slowly unable to tear her eyes away from him and for a moment she could have even sworn to feel her heart stutter in her chest. “Yes, Sir,” she finally replied hoarsely but it was enough to satisfy him.

“Very well. Then I guess it is time for you to get back to your common room. It is almost midnight and I’m sure Mr Potter will eagerly await your return to complain about me.” At his last words, Professor Snape’s mouth turned into a crooked smile and Hermione could have sworn that she had never before seen this expression on him. But somehow the smile suited him. Merlin, where did that though suddenly come from? Hermione shook her head in confusion.

“Alright. Good night Professor and thank you… for everything,” she said and smiled gratefully.

He answered her with a nod. “It is my duty to take care of you, Miss Granger. And now come, I’ll escort you back to my office door.”

Hermione carefully got up to her feet and followed her Potions Professor back into his office. She hadn’t realized that his personal quarters were just next door. She still couldn't believe that he let her rest in his personal quarters instead of waking her up and giving her even more detention as a punishment. But she guessed she didn't know her Professor very well. Tonight he had surprised her more than once, after all.

ssssssssss

Professor Snape was of course right as Harry and Ron were indeed waiting for her when she stumbled through the portrait hole into the Gryffindor common room. They had placed themselves close to the fire and seemed to be engaged in a game of Exploding Snap, but as soon as they heard her enter the common room, their heads turned around.

“Hermione, finally!” Ron shouted and got up with a relieved sigh. “Merlin, Snape really keeps you for ages in these detentions. Doesn’t the guy have a hobby or something?”

Hermione smiled weakly and shrugged. She couldn’t very well tell them that she had mostly slept in Snape’s quarters today, as they would probably freak out and refuse to let her go back ever again. "I don't know. Maybe he just likes reading, because he seems to do that quite a lot." It wasn't a lie, Hermione thought, not really. But it would hopefully be enough to stop them from asking any further about her detention because Hermione would hate it to have to lie to them.

Harry shrugged. "He does have a lot of books in his office," he admitted and Hermione could see that the two of them were expecting for her to stay with them for a while. Luckily she felt well-rested, thanks to her little nap, and so she sat down next to them on the floor.

“How was your first Occlumency lesson anyway, Harry? You know, I've done a bit of research and it sounds awfully interesting," Hermione said and looked at her dark-haired friend with a curious smile. It was enough to make him groan. 

"It was a nightmare," Harry complained. "He really didn't explain much and just kept attacking my mind. The only advice he gave me was to clear my mind, but that's easier said than done if the guy keeps shuffling through your memories and taunts you about everything he finds."

Hermione sighed. Professor Snape hadn’t been kidding when he said that he wouldn't make an effort with teaching Harry. She knew the reason why, of course, but how was she supposed to teach Harry without giving her secret away? “I don’t really know how it works, but I could do some research if you want. You really need to be able to defend yourself from this  _ thing _ in your head and if you don’t think Professor Snape will be able to help you, then we’ll find another way, okay?” She forced herself to look into his eyes, even though she’d rather have avoided it. But Harry was her friend, for god’s sake, and she really didn’t want more distance between them than strictly necessary.

"Yeah, that would be great. Thank you, Hermione," Harry answered with a weak smile. "How was your date by the way?"

Hermione groaned inwardly. Did she really have to talk about this?

“Yeah, we asked Fred and George, you know? But they were suspiciously silent about it,” Ron continued and looked at her with curiosity. Obviously, there was no getting away from this. She sighed.

“Yeah, I imagine they would be. Let’s just say that there will not be another date. We’re better off as friends.”

Ron looked at her with questioning eyes, whereas Harry looked like he'd rather end the conversation here. But unfortunately for them, Ron wasn't finished. "Merlin Hermione, that sounds bad. Did they try to kiss you?"

"No!" she protested with red cheeks because she was pretty sure she'd have let them even though she would have known what a bad idea that was. "They were perfect gentlemen, don't worry."

“Good,” the younger Weasley said and looked at her with a crooked grin. "Because I swear, I would have punched them if they messed around with you. You deserve better than being toyed around with. 'm not saying they would have done that, but …”

“It’s alright. Thanks for watching out for me, Ron,” Hermione said quickly and touched his arm. “You’re a good friend.”

He snorted. “You’re the one saving our arses over and over again. The least I can do is trying to save your heart in return."

Hermione forced herself to smile, even though she could feel the tears rise behind her eyes. Poor Ron didn't have an idea that he might be too late for doing that but not because his brothers were the ones who had broken her heart. She had managed that all by herself.


	14. Of gaining trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, here's another chapter for you. I hope you like it. :-) I finally decided on the pairing for the story. Yes, this will be a triad with Hermione, Fred and George. I just don't have the heart to break the twins apart. I hope you're all okay with this. If not, turn around and run. ;-)
> 
> My friend, Multilingualism, betaed this chapter for me. Thank you so much for your help.

It was a strange feeling to go to Professor Snape’s office in the knowledge that there would not be a lesson today and she’d be just doing her homework. It was Sunday and Hermione had two more essays that would be due tomorrow, one of them being potions, which made her even more nervous doing her work in the strict Professor's presence. But he was, of course, right that teaching her Occlumency was of no use if she wasn't even able to stay awake during the lesson, but as she was still officially in detention they had to fill the time somehow.

“Ah, Miss Granger. Do come in," he invited her inside with a neutral tone. Hermione followed him hastily into his office but halted after he had closed the door behind her. The room looked… different. She couldn't really put a finger on it but somehow Professor Snape's office suddenly felt almost inviting, but apart from her armchair, that he had moved to a corner and added a small table next to it, nothing seemed to have changed. Strange.

“I hope you’ll be comfortable enough in the corner over there,” he said while he returned to his chair behind the desk. “It’s probably not the Gryffindor common room but you’ll find that you are at least quite undisturbed here as I am not very fond of chatter.”

She nodded with a shy smile. “Yes, thank you, Sir. I very much appreciate it.”

His answer was an unintelligible grunt before his attention shifted back to the large stack of essays on his desk. Well, it looked like she wasn't the only one with a mountain of work and somehow the realisation made her feel better.

It was at least two hours later when Hermione realized how different doing homework with Professor Snape was. He was right, it wasn’t the Gryffindor common room which meant that apart from the scratching of their feathers and the shuffling of paper no other sound could be heard in the room and Hermione realized that she found it relaxing to no end. It wasn’t just that she wasn’t constantly disturbed by Ron and Harry, who were asking for her help or started discussing Quidditch instead of doing their work, somehow it was the whole atmosphere of the room that had this effect. She had already finished her essay for Professor Sprout and she was halfway done with her Potions essay, but instead of feeling stressed or tired she felt more and more relaxed. Wasn’t that strange? Maybe not. She loved studying after all and it was the first time she could do so totally undisturbed and without pressure. And for a moment Hermione wished that she could spend all her evenings like that with the silent company of her grumpy Potions Professor. But the man would probably kill her if she asked him to let her do just that. Professor Snape wasn't very fond of nosy students after all.

ssssssss

Dolores Umbridge felt that she was really doing a great job. Six weeks into the school year and she had already established six new rules that helped the children to behave properly every day and even though there were still some wrongdoers, behaviour in school had noticeably improved. The Minister was pleased with her and the daily reports she sent him on everything she noticed about the teachers, the Headmaster or various students she had started to monitor. Harry Potter was still a difficult case, but at least her punishment at the Quidditch game had shown some effect and the boy had refrained from being violent again. But she'd have to continue keeping an eye on him, as she knew that it was only a matter of time until the boy would start seeking attention by telling stories again. She had to prevent that under all circumstances because in the momentary political situation a panic was the last thing they needed. Also, those infamous Weasley-twins had calmed somewhat down. Dolores had been warned about them and when she started her job she had been prepared to reign them in immediately. Luckily banning them from Quidditch had the desired effect and in retrospect, she asked herself what others considered that difficult with those two. After all, she had managed just fine. But not everybody was Dolores Umbridge, after all, which made her presence at the castle even more important.

But her search for the Open Link was unfortunately still as fruitless as it had been at the beginning of the school year. The rules established by her had managed to re-establish a certain order and there were far fewer students indulging in inappropriate activities in the hallways. But there was still no one that was particularly eye-catching to her and that should have been impossible. Because through the Minister Dolores knew that the Open Link was still intact but after such a long time certain behaviours should be noticeable by now. There were students showing a high interest in other students, of course, Dolores monitored them all, but none of them had sought out her help and that was odd. She had informed all of her pupils what it would mean if the Open Linked remained open for a long while and by now the affected student should feel the draining effects on their magic, start to panic and seek out help. But nothing happened and that unsettled her more than she would ever admit out loud. What was it, she was missing? Was there possibly someone else who had found the Open Link before she did and had started influencing him or her? What if she didn’t seem trustworthy enough to whoever was affected?

Dolores took a measured sip of tea from her favourite teacup, before she carefully placed it back on the silver tray to her left. It was obvious that she would have to take certain measures to ensure that the Open Link was finally found. Even if the person didn't feel the need to talk to her about his problems, they would possibly feel the need to write home about them. It, therefore, wouldn't hurt if the Minister would assign the help of some house-elves to check the student's mail for some information, discreetly of course. Apart from that, she would have to work on her public image. Dolores Umbridge was a very trustworthy person after all. The students just finally had to realize that.

ssssssss

Severus had watched Hermione Granger over the last week and he was pretty sure that his slight change of behaviour towards her was enough, that she started forming some sort of attachment towards him. He wasn't an idiot and therefore he knew very well that it was totally delusional to aim for something like romantic feelings in the first place. Considering their age gap and the fact that he was her Professor and such a relationship was strictly forbidden, that would have been ridiculous. But luckily romantic feelings or even love were not necessary to form a temporary link and therefore save the girl's magical core from bleeding out. All it took was admiration, friendship or trust. And these things were totally in his reach if he just played his cards wisely.

Welcoming her into his office for doing her homework in peace was just the first step of that process and it had worked fairly well. The girl had more and more relaxed in his presence and now she even openly smiled at him, when he welcomed her or wished her a good night. The next step would be a tad more difficult for him, as it would demand from him to open up a bit towards her. He despised doing that, no matter with whom. Severus was a very private person and he never shared his past or his memories with anybody. But he wanted Hermione to trust him, to even  _ like _ him. And that wouldn’t be possible without making certain sacrifices. It would hopefully be worth it because if they really managed to establish a temporary link, then it would buy the girl time to look for a suitable permanent partner. And in the meantime, their shared energy was maybe an insurance that could keep him alive, if things in this war went south for him. It would be a win-win – situation in the end and so Severus had no qualms to manipulate the girl into the right direction, just a bit.

“Good evening, Miss Granger,” he said when she dutifully knocked at his office door at the time they had agreed upon. Today was the day of their next Occlumency lesson and Severus could feel the nervousness radiate from her. She probably remembered how she “fell asleep” the last time and was embarrassed about it. Should he make a comment to reassure her? Probably not, that would have been too out of character for him. And he didn’t want her to become suspicious of his behaviour.

“I hope you took my advice on getting enough sleep. Today I’d like to teach you something new in our lesson, but only if you feel rested well enough,” he said and moved into the centre of the room. There he stopped and looked at her with a raised brow.

“I’m feeling much better today, Professor Snape. You’ll have my full attention, I swear.” The girl meant it, that much he could tell from just looking at her and he nodded in satisfaction.

“Very well, sit.” He gestured to her armchair, that now stood in the middle of the room and with a lazy wave of his wand he conjured one for himself opposite from hers. She followed his order without hesitation and looked at him with her hands folded in her lap. Severus sat down slowly and waited a moment before he said: “Today I intend on teaching you Legilimency, Miss Granger. It is not strictly necessary for you to master it to defend your mind, but as you agreed on teaching Mr Potter, it will be very useful for you in the future. Furthermore, it will allow you to take a look at my Occlumency shields and hopefully, this will help to improve your own ones."

He could see her eyes and mouth widen in surprise at his words and for a moment she just stared at him in speechless silence. "You want me to look into your mind, Sir?" she asked hesitantly like she was afraid of having misunderstood him.

"I do," he replied simply and waited in silence for his words to take effect. Then he continued: "There is no reason for you to get too excited, Miss Granger. You will not see anything I don't want you to see. All memories dear to me are safely tucked away and not even the Dark Lord has ever found a single one of them. And believe me, he tried."

The girl sighed in relief, but her eyes remained worried nonetheless. “I really don’t want to pry, Sir. It is very generous of you to offer such a thing though and I do appreciate it, but I really don’t want to risk angering or hurting you in any way.” She nervously kneaded her hands in her lap.

He sighed. “You are not in danger of doing so. Learning Occlumency requires a lot of trust, as it allows the teacher to enter your mind without you being able to defend yourself in the beginning. By letting me teach you, you showed great trust in me, Miss Granger, and it is time for me to return this trust.”

She looked at him for a long moment and sought out his eyes. Their eyes locked and for the first time, he realized, that there were flecks of gold hidden in her hazel orbs. "Thank you, Professor. I will not disappoint you, Sir."

He nodded, without breaking eye contact before he formed his lips into a kind smile. “I know. Now watch closely. The wand-movement for performing the spell goes like this.”

Severus started to explain everything to her, that she would need to know to be able to enter his mind. Then he readied himself and cleared his head. 

“Alright, Miss Granger. It will be easiest for you if you try to keep eye contact. One says that the eyes are the gate to somebody's soul. In this case, there is some truth to that."

She nodded eagerly and even though he could still feel her nervousness most of it had changed to something like nervous anticipation. Good. “Very well, Sir. Are you ready?”

He snorted amusedly. “Of course, girl. Do your worst,” he said and looked into her eyes without hesitation. And then he set about to earn her trust.

sssssssss

Entering Professor Snape’s mind felt like diving into a cold, deep lake. As soon as she had cast Legillimens, his black eyes seemed to swallow her and a moment later she felt herself being swallowed by darkness. And for a moment Hermione had to work hard, not to panic. Did she do something wrong? Because she was pretty sure there should have been something. But no, there was only impenetrable blackness and silence. She pulled back with the feeling of disappointment and after a moment Professor Snape's office reappeared before her eyes. The man himself sat in front of her and after a moment his eyes blinked and he looked at her with a raised brow.

“Well, Miss Granger? What did you find?” he asked and Hermione could have sworn that there was a small smile tugging on his lips.

She sighed. “Nothing. There was only darkness. Did I do something wrong?”

The Professor shook his head. "No, this is how an empty mind looks like. If you manage to teach Mr Potter properly, then this is what you should find in the end – nothing. No flashes of memories, no sound, nothing.”

Hermione nodded in relief. "Alright, thank you, Professor."

"Don't thank me, yet. That was just the first step," the man replied. "When you cast your spell the next time, you'll find out what my mind usually looks like. You can look around on your own if you like, or I could help to guide you if that's what you prefer. Which is it?”

She looked at him with wide eyes. “I think I’d like some guidance, if you don’t mind, Sir. I kind of felt lost a moment ago and as I have no idea what to expect…” Hermione shrugged without ending the sentence.

“Alright. Recast the spell when you're ready," Professor Snape said with a nod. And Hermione did. The feeling of diving into a cold lake still remained, but this time the Darkness faded after a moment and Hermione found herself on the shore of a lake that strongly reminded her of the Black Lake. She should have been wet, but as everything was just a visual projection of professor Snape's mind she felt completely dry when she pulled herself up. And suddenly Professor Snape was there, right in front of her and even though he still wore his dark teaching robes, he looked somehow different – younger. 

“You’re here,” Hermione said in surprise which led to the man in front of her smiling amusedly.

"It's my mind, Miss Granger, of course, I am. What you see is a projection of myself. It might vary from reality to some degree, but it should be close enough to the truth.”

She nodded. It was only logical that a self-image created out of a person’s memory slightly varied from reality. Hermione was sure she also viewed herself slightly differently from how she really looked. "But if this was a real attack, you wouldn't be here, am I right Professor?"

“Absolutely. This is just for showing you around, come.” Professor Snape made an inviting gesture with his head and when Hermione looked in the direction he had pointed to, her eyes went wide with wonder. “This is Hogwarts, Sir. You created the image of the whole castle in your mind?”

“I did. I consider this place my home, even though I was not an orphan when I went to school. And as you might have found it is easiest to project a place in your mind, you have a strong relationship to.” Professor Snape started walking and Hermione hurried to keep stride with him. It was surprisingly easy, considering their height difference and Hermione attributed it to the fact that this only played in Professor Snape’s mind.

"I see. It's only logical that it's easiest to imagine a place one is very well used to. But isn't that also a disadvantage in case of an attack? The attacker does most likely know Hogwarts too."

The Professor looked at her with glinting eyes. "So? Let's try an experiment, Miss Granger. You as a student are very well acquainted with the castle. Try to find one of my memories - any memory will do."

Hermione looked at him with wide eyes. “Are you sure, Sir?” 

“Absolutely. Go on. I am quite curious about what you'll make of this." With this, the Professor's steps slowed down and Hermione guessed he wanted her to take the lead. She nodded in determination. How difficult could this be? Yes, the castle was huge but she had a few ideas where she would start her search. 

It was a long while later when Hermione realized that she wasn’t any closer to finding what she was looking for. She had checked all the logical places like the library, the Great Hall and Professor Snape’s office but it had been of no use. She had admired the great details the Professor could picture in his mind and apart from some books in the library being totally blank there wasn’t much that gave the mental image away. But there was no memory. Not a single one. It was beyond frustrating. 

Finally, she went to the potions lab, not the one they used in class but one that looked much more private and was well stocked with various ingredients, cauldrons and brewing equipment. And something told her that she was finally in the right place. "It's here," she said and looked around. It was only logical, the man was a Potions Master after all, but what had he done?

“Very good, Miss Granger. Now what?” He looked at her with an amused glint in his eyes and Hermione got the impression that he was curiously waiting for what she was going to do next. What was she going to do? She decided to check the ingredients on the shelf first. If Hermione decided to hide memories within books then she guessed he could do so in the different jars and containers, too. But after she had opened, sniffed and even touched several absolutely non-inviting ingredients she decided that there was nothing. It had to do something with the lab though. What if…

"Is there a book with potion recipes somewhere here, Sir?" she asked and he looked at her with a smug smile.

“No, Miss Granger. There is none. Why would there be? Do you imagine me needing one?” Yes, the Professor’s eyes were definitely glinting with amusement which assured her that she had the right idea. If the Professor had really done what she thought he had, then it was absolutely brilliant and there was really almost no way anybody but him could access his memories. She smiled.

“If I had to guess one needs to brew a potion and drink it. Every different potion gives access to another memory. Am I right, Sir?”

But Professor Snape only smiled and shrugged. “Try it, Miss Granger. I am sure there are at least one or two potions you have the instructions memorized for word by word. Go on.”

Hermione looked at him with wide eyes but after a moment she straightened her posture and started. She wasn’t as proficient in potions as he was and she guessed that he would have used more advanced potions or even his own recipes to hide his memories with. And so she chose the most advanced potion she had recently brewed, the Draught of Insight. She had brewed it twice by now and really, she could remember the instructions by heart. And so it was only a while later until she bottled the finished, silvery potion and looked at the phial in her hands with a heavily beating heart. Should she really drink it? Would it even work? And if it did, what would she see?

"Are you sure you are okay with this Professor?" she asked the man who leaned casually against a workbench and watched her with his black eyes. He shrugged.

"I wouldn't have let you come here if I wasn't. Go on, enjoy the show." His tone was almost sarcastic which made her shiver in dark anticipation. Merlin, what memories would a man like Severus Snape hide, she asked herself. Would it be something terrible? Something from his time as a Death Eater? Or from his childhood? Hermione didn’t know but as the Professor didn’t hold her back, she decided to find out. She took a long, last look at the man in front of her before she took a deep breath and drained the content of the phial. And immediately Hermione's world went black.


	15. What lies inside

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really shouldn’t be posting this, as I haven’t written anything new since I published the last chapter of this story. But I have a hard time at the moment and posting always cheers me up. Let’s hope it works because I hate to be stuck in my writing.
> 
> A big thank you to Multilingualism, who betaed this chapter for me. 

Hermione found herself in a smallish bedroom that was all brown and grey colours. The floor was made of brown, worn timber floorboards that would have surely creaked under her feet if she had been really there. But this was just a memory, the memory of young Severus Snape who was currently sitting on his bed with his back leaned against the wall and a book in hand. Hermione guessed that he must have been a bit younger than she was now. His hair was already long and covered most of his face like a curtain and only his long nose was peaking out of it, as he was totally absorbed by his book. The sight of him made her smile as she could totally understand. There wasn't much in the room of this young teenage Severus. Apart from the bed, there was a small wooden wardrobe and a small desk by the window. Next to it was a low shelf but apart from his school books and a few muggle stories, there wasn't much to find. And Hermione instantly felt sorry for this boy who seemed to have a passion for reading but not the means of buying interesting books for himself.

“Severus, come down here at once,” a male voice suddenly barked from outside the room and by the stiffening of the boy's body, Hermione got the feeling that there wasn't a good relationship between him and this unknown person. But young Severus immediately scrambled to his feet, marked his current page in the book and hastened outside. Hermione didn't have much choice than to follow him, as she was currently in his memory and so it felt like she was pulled after him by something like an elastic band connecting their bodies.

The boy scurried down the stairs and turned to the right and Hermione just saw him cross a door frame before he disappeared into a room, which must have been the kitchen. There, at the kitchen table, sat a rough-looking man that must have been his father. Hermione could see lots of similarities between the two of them, the long nose, the black hair and dark eyes and also the noticeable cheekbones, that gave their faces a very own character. But apart from those features, the two of them couldn't have been much different. Where Professor Snape was always slender, the man at the table looked strong. His face was tanned like he was spending most of his days outside and by the state of his hands, he most likely earned his money by doing hard labour. But the most shocking to Hermione was the man's expression. Professor Snape had never been a friendly Professor and there were times, where he had been unjust or even cruel towards her and her friends. But Hermione had never been afraid of him and she knew that he would still protect her if she was ever in danger. His father, on the other hand, looked like he wouldn't only hurt somebody with his cruel words, but also on a very physical level. And the realisation made her skin crawl.

“Where have you been, boy?” the man asked his son in a harsh voice and looked at him with a cold, calculating expression.

“Upstairs, doing homework,” young Severus explained quietly and looked at his father with a bowed head.

“Bah, I’m sure you finished your homework within the first three days of your holidays, boy, which only leaves the realisation that you’ve been hiding out doing…  _ nothing _ !”

The teenager flinched like he had been expecting a blow, but his father's hand connected with the table with a loud thud.

“But I have enough of this laziness, boy. If you want to eat, you are going to work. Not like one of  _ them _ , no, you’re going to do proper work. Do you hear me?”

Young Severus nodded submissively. “Yes, father.” 

"But Tobias," a female voice from the other end of the room pleaded and just then Hermione realized there was even another person there. The woman, which must have been Professor Snape's mother, had surely been beautiful once, but now her blond hair had started to turn limp and grey and her face was full of worry lines. But the worst were her eyes, which were shimmering with hopelessness that it took Hermione’ breath away. “You can't take him into the mines with you. You know how dangerous it is down there after they closed them down and…"

“Be quiet, woman,” Tobias Snape interrupted her and leapt to his feet and Hermione could see the other woman flinch in fear. “The boy will come with me and he’ll make himself useful for once. And if he’s stupid enough to hurt himself, then it’s maybe a mouth less we’ve got to feed.”

Young Severus stared at his parents with wide eyes and from the direction of his mother, there was only a whimper as an answer. And so he stared at his father with a resigned expression on his face and nodded.

"Come now, boy. Today you'll finally learn something useful," the man said, got up and left the room. Severus followed him, with a last, wistful look towards his mother, who looked at him with sad, helpless eyes. But there was no other word of resistance from her and so it was only a moment before Severus followed his father out of the house.

Hermione was just about to follow them when her world suddenly started to spin and for a moment it felt like she was pulled through a water surface. She gasped for air only to realize that she was somehow back to Professor Snape’s office, where she was still sitting in the armchair he had provided for her. She blinked in confusion. Why was she back? The memory didn’t feel like it ended there.

“I think that’s enough,” the man in front of her said in a calm but determined voice. He looked at her with a neutral expression but Hermione could have sworn that there was something behind his eyes: uneasiness maybe?

“The memory wasn’t finished, was it?” she asked carefully and studied his expression. He nodded curtly while his eyes fixed a point somewhere behind her.

"It wasn't. But I decided to end it before things got too… exciting," he replied and even though one side of his mouth twitched Hermione knew, that he didn't mean exciting in a good way.

“I didn’t know one could do that,” she said and looked at him with furrowed brows. “But I guess there’s a lot I still don’t know.”

The Professor smiled wistfully. “There’s always a multitude of knowledge we do not possess, Miss Granger. Don’t let this ever stop you from learning new things.” With that, he positioned himself more comfortably in his armchair and looked at her with his fingers steepled in front of his chin. “Tell me, what did you learn on your trip into my head?" He looked at her with a challenging look in his eyes and Hermione contemplated his question carefully. 

“I learned an effective way of protecting one's memories, Sir. Until now I didn't understand how to do that properly, but now I see that hiding my memories within books wasn't very effective. Almost everyone can read a book." She shrugged with a crooked grin. "Your way of hiding them in a potion the attacker has to make without instruction is… genius. You simply used one of your strengths to do it, which is brilliant! I love it!" She looked at him excitedly.

"Good," Professor Snape replied with a nod and Hermione thought, he actually looked pleased. "Now tell me, Miss Granger, what strengths do you possess that you could use for doing the same?"

She chewed at her bottom lip. “I… I’ll have to think about it, Sir. There might be a few things, but I’m not sure whether they would be suitable to turn them into these sorts of defences.”

The Professor nodded. "Good. I want you to do that for your homework until next week. Try finding a unique way of hiding your memories and implement it into your mental image. Can you do that, Miss Granger?”

Hermione nodded self-assuredly. “Yes, Sir.” 

“Very well. Then I think we're finished for today," her teacher said and got up from his seat. He turned towards his desk and Hermione thought he wanted to sit down behind it, to continue doing his work, but instead, he opened one of the drawers and pulled something out. He looked at her for a long moment, before he stepped in front of her and said: "You did a good job finding my memories and I think you earned yourself a little price." He stretched out his arm towards her and when he opened his palm, there was a small potion phial in it.

“Is this… that’s my potion, the Draught of Insight, isn’t it, Sir?” Hermione asked and looked at him confusedly. “You’re giving it back to me, Sir?”

Professor Snape nodded with a neutral expression. “I am. And I want you to take it before our next lesson. See it as an incentive to build good mental shields, because I’ll be looking for whatever you’re going to learn from it.”

Hermione swallowed heavily. She felt a bit uncomfortable at the thought of taking the potion if there wasn't really the need to do so. Harry and Ron had been somewhat desperate, but she wasn't. What if it didn't provide an answer, at all? Well, it would if she decided on the right question. And there was a question that was almost on everybody’s mind at the moment. She sighed. “Alright, Sir. I must confess, I don’t like the idea very much. But I guess there’s nothing else you don’t already know about me.”

He looked at her with a small smile. “Indeed. Does this worry you, Miss Granger?” His tone sounded light, almost casual but Hermione could feel that the question behind it was serious. And so she listened into her heart before she said: “No, Sir. I trust you not to use this knowledge against me and that’s all I care about.”

The Professor nodded. “Good, then I suggest we’ll meet here at my office next Wednesday at 7. Goodnight, Miss Granger.”

“Good night, Sir,” Hermione replied and she was just about to turn around, when she changed her mind, gathered her courage and said: “May I ask you a question, before I go, Sir?”

Immediately he fixed her with his dark eyes and Hermione could feel the nervousness rise within her. “You may.” His answer was short and even though his face remained almost expressionless, she still felt a thrill of excitement at his words.

“Why did you end the memory early, Sir? What happened? Did he…” Hermione didn’t dare to finish the sentence, as she felt she was already stressing her luck enough as it was. But even though her Professor would mostly simply decline to answer, she still wanted to try talking to him about what she had seen.

“Did he what, Miss Granger?” the man in front of her asked with a glint in his eyes. “Hit me?” His mouth twitched as he must have seen her shocked expression. “Of course he did. My father was an abusive bastard, as you surely noticed.”

Hermione nodded weakly and captured her bottom lip with her teeth. But she didn't dare to say a word in fear of interrupting and therefore stopping him.

“But that’s not what happened that day. I wouldn’t have cared about you seeing any of this. No, as you heard my father took me to go into the old coal mine. It had been closed down a few years ago, but all the equipment was still there and so my father went regularly to  _ work _ ." The Professor's lips twitched angrily at the use of the last word and Hermione knew that by work he meant to steal. “But there was a reason the mines were closed. Working there had gotten dangerous and so it was no wonder when we got trapped down there by a landslide that day. It wasn’t pretty.”

Hermione stared at him with wide eyes. “I am sorry, Sir.”

He fixed her with his dark eyes. “Don’t be. It was a long time ago.”

She nodded. “How did you get out? I’m sorry, I don’t mean to pry.”

Professor Snape shrugged. "I am a wizard, Miss Granger and you can imagine that having such a father led to always having my wand with me. I got us out but as I was underage and in a Muggle area the Ministry wasn't very impressed with me. But they let me off the hook with a stern warning."

She sighed in relief. “I’m glad. And your father? Did he… get hurt?”

He grunted. “Quite badly and he wasn’t impressed when my mother fixed him with magic afterwards. I considered obliviating him, as I knew he'd let her feel his anger for weeks after. But as I was only a fourth-year I refrained from trying. He died half a year later when there was another landslide in the mines and he was down there with a friend. I can't say I've mourned his passing, as that would have been a lie." 

Hermione nodded. “I understand, Sir, and I hope my curiosity didn’t bring up any bad memories for you. It’s a character trait I can’t really help but I’ve recently been told, that it isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”

Professor Snape's mouth twitched at her words. "It is if it gets you killed. And now off with you, girl. I've entertained your curiosity enough for an evening."

She smiled. “Good night, Sir. And thank you.”

He waved her off with a shrug but as Hermione left his office a small, victorious smile graced her lips. Because somehow she had the feeling that she discovered a bit more of her grumpy Potions Professor today and it was obvious that the man really put some trust in her, by letting her see a part of his past. And somehow that made her feel special.

ssssssss

It took Hermione two days to find a chance to take the potion. She wasn’t afraid of doing so, but she decided that she would prefer doing it alone and uninterrupted and so she had to wait for a chance to retreat into her bed early. And this really wasn’t an easy thing to do for her these days. But finally, it was Friday and she was pretty sure all the other girls in her dorm would have a late night and so it was the perfect chance for her to use the potion Professor Snape had given her. She had long decided on the question she would ask after drinking it because even though she wasn't as desperate or confused as Harry and Ron had been, she still wanted to make sure that the strong emotions she felt now and then weren't caused by an Open Link in her magic. Because that was the last thing she needed on top of her problems.

"Alright," she thought and closed the Gryffindor-red curtains of her bed around her before she cast a silencing and a notice-me-not charm. Then she sat down on the covers and crossed her legs in front of her. The Potion had been in the pocket of her robes ever since she had gotten it back. Now she finally pulled it out and weighed it in her hands, before she removed the stopper and sniffed the silvery liquid. It smelled a bit like flowers, she thought, but not in a way that made her want to drink it. Not that it mattered, because Potions rarely smelled delicious in the first place. "Well, no reason for stalling this," Hermione realized and held the bottle against her lips. "What is wrong with me?" she formulated her question in her mind, then she took a deep breath and gulped the potion down. It immediately took effect and it was only a matter of seconds before she had her answer. And she didn't like it at all.


	16. How to do the impossible

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thank you for your encouragement and your kind words of support. I’m feeling better again and managed to finish another chapter. For those who wonder: Severus will NOT be a love interest for Hermione in this story. Maybe I’ll write Hermione/Severus one day because I like him and I’d love to try, but not in this story or the next one.
> 
> Multilingualism betaed again and corrected my awkward English. Thank you, my friend. 

"I can't get her out of my head," George admitted towards his twin as they were just about to finish their experiments in their lab. It had been several long days since their first and probably last date with their favourite Prefect, but for George, it had felt like ages. His heart simply refused to accept what his head realized was the truth: Hermione could not date both of them and so it was better to forget the little, feisty witch before anyone of them got hurt. But god, it was difficult!

“You mean Hermione?” Fred asked as he boxed the first finished Puking Pastilles into the containers they had designed for the Skiving Snack boxes. The finished products would be a hit, they had decided, and it would only be days until they would be able to sell the first ones to the more and more desperate students.

“Yeah,” George replied with a sigh. “I know what she said made sense and I am thankful she doesn’t want to hurt one of us, but I still want her.”

Fred hummed in agreement. “Me, too. It will probably take some time to go away. We’ll just have to focus on something else. And apart from making loads of different new products for the shop, which always cheers me up, there has been a project we have been neglecting for far too long.”

"The Open Link," George uttered what Fred was thinking. "We aren't much closer to finding it than we were two weeks ago. But when we meet Dumbledore after the next Defence lesson, he'll want to hear what we came up with. And that's not that much, to be honest."

Fred groaned. "I know. We have pretty much ruled out everybody from our year, as all of them have made some experiences already. But there 're still so many 6 th and 5 th years we have no clue about. There needs to be another way to rule some of them out, Georgie. It can't just be about sexual experience and all that."

“Not really, no. Why aren’t there more people with an Open Link? What makes that person so special? What a person would one need to be, to even establish such a condition?” George summarised his thoughts loudly and stroked his chin.

Fred looked at him with his brows furrowed in concentration. “Well, being an Open Link makes your magical core accessible by another person and we know what that means, brother. Not many people would even want or permit that. Think about all those Slytherins that just want to cover their arses and only think about themselves. It can’t be one of them.”

George nodded. “No, it can’t be. Maybe it’s someone who would do almost anything for his friends, someone loyal or empathic.”

Fred stroked his chin. “Maybe a Hufflepuff then, but not necessarily. But that's an idea, Georgie. We'll keep our eyes open for someone that would fit such a description. And with a bit of luck, we'll find someone like that. There can't be too many of them."

George snorted. “Probably not. Most teenagers are self-centred idiots. Still, I’d prefer if we could discreetly ask around what other people think who it could be. Alone we are simply not having all of the information we need.”

At that, his brother grinned. “Then let’s do that, Georgie. And I just got a brilliant idea how to go about that without looking too suspicious.”

sssssssss

Harry’s next Occlumency lesson was an even bigger disaster than his first one and he was visibly bad-tempered when he stormed back into the Gryffindor common room. 

“This is ridiculous,” he moaned and threw himself on the sofa next to Hermione. “I swear, Snape’s just taking this as a chance to taunt me. God, my head feels like it’s ‘bout to burst!”

Ron looked at his friend with a dark expression, before he turned his attention to Hermione. "The guy isn't teaching him anything, Mione. Look at him! Do we even know if Snape’s really on our side? What if he’s working for … you know… and he’s just trying to wear him down?”

Hermione looked at the redhead with a dark expression. She could understand why he thought so, as Snape had warned her that he would not teach Harry anything of use. But he couldn't very well tell her friends that she knew for a fact, that Snape was working against You-Know-Who. And so she settled for. "Don't be ridiculous, Ron. Dumbledore trusts him!" But she could see that neither of the boys was convinced.

“Yeah, but what if he’s wrong?” Ron countered back and stared at them incredulously. “It wouldn’t be the first time that there’s a traitor in the Order. Just think about Wormtail. Dumbledore trusted him too, right?”

Well, Ron had a point, Hermione thought but that wasn’t why she trusted Snape after all. She had made her very own experiences with the man but that had to remain a secret of course. 

"Yeah, Ron's right," Harry grumbled next to her. "Whatever he thinks he's doing, he's not helping me, he's making it worse. The dreams I have, get more vivid every night. It's always the same corridor I see. Do you think that I am seeing through his eyes in my dreams?"

Hermione shuddered at the thought. “It’s possible Harry but if that’s what it is, it is really a bad sign. We need to do something, so that this connection doesn’t get stronger, Harry.”

Her friends nodded grumpily. “Yeah, but  _ how _ ?” Ron asked her with an air of desperation. “Snape isn’t helping Harry but who else could teach him this Ocumincy?”

“It’s Occlumency, Ronald,” Hermione corrected him with a sigh. “And I thought about it, boys. I did some research in the last few days and I think I can teach you. Both of you.”

“Me too?” Ron asked her with wide eyes. “Why? It’s not like I’ll need it, right?”

She looked at him with a grim expression. “No? What if You-Know-Who starts using Harry to read our thoughts? We know there’s a part of him inside Harry and he’s a very powerful, dark wizard, Ron. I don’t know about you, but I want to protect my mind, just in case.”

“Merlin’s pants, you’re right, Mione,” her red-haired friend mumbled with wide eyes. “He could do that, couldn’t he?”

Hermione sighed. “We don’t know, Ron. But I’d rather be prepared and apart from that we’re better as a team, right?”

“Right,” Ron agreed and looked at Harry, who was watching them silently from his seat in the armchair. “You heard Mione, Harry. We’re doing this together. And we know Hermione’s brilliant. I’m sure she’s a ten times better teacher than Snape.”

Harry snorted humourlessly. “Seriously? That isn’t hard. I’m almost sure even Dobby could do better.”

Hermione looked at her friend with wide eyes. “That’s it, Harry! We’ll ask Dobby!” But the boys just looked at her confusedly and she realized that she had already thought two steps ahead.

“You want Dobby to teach us Occlumency?” Harry asked her with a disbelieving look but Hermione shook her head with a chuckle.

“No, of course not. I’ll be doing this. But think about it, boys. We’ll need a room to practice, a room where we’ll be undisturbed for a while. And who knows the castle better than the Headmaster himself? The house-elves!”

“That actually isn’t a bad idea, mate,” Ron said and smiled towards the other boy. “Should we go to the dorm and call for him?”

Harry shrugged with a crooked smile. “Can’t hurt, I guess. And I think if Hermione will really try to learn and teach us Occlumency, then finding us a room is the least we can do.”

sssssssss

Severus could tell the exact evening when Miss Granger had finally taken the potion. Even though almost everybody around him seemed oblivious to it, he thought that she suddenly behaved more cautious around people and she seemed like she was carrying even more weight on her shoulder now. He still wasn't sure if making her aware of her condition had been a good idea, but it was obvious that the people hunting for the Open Link got more and more desperate, especially Umbridge. And so Hermione was probably safer if she at least knew that she was, in fact, the one they were looking for. The girl would have to be careful with displaying emotions or even affection in public and even though Severus had rarely seen her doing so, he knew through their Occlumency sessions that the urge to do so was definitely there. But Hermione Granger was a surprisingly good actor, he found, and if he hadn't been aware of her condition, he would have thought the girl was probably just stressed or something equally fitting for her.

“Ah, Miss Granger,” he greeted her when she knocked at his door one week after their last meeting. She was nervous, this much he could tell by just looking at her, but he guessed it was only natural considering the secret she was trying to keep from him. “Come in.”

By now she sat down on her armchair without hesitation, which was definitely a good sign, he guessed. And so he decided on a bit of small talk before he would start with the lesson. “Could you convince Potter to take some additional Occlumency lessons from you?”

The girl nodded. “I did. It wasn’t very difficult after last Saturday. He wasn’t very happy with you, Sir.”

He snorted. “Good, because that was very much my intention. With a bit of luck, he'll break off the lessons with me after a while. Then I can finally stop playing this charade."

“Yeah. Teaching him is as difficult as you predicted, though. It's really difficult for him to calm his thoughts and empty his mind. Even Ron is better at doing it."

“You’re teaching Weasley, too?” Severus asked her in astonishment, while he sat down across from her. “Merlin, girl, good luck with that.”

She smiled wistfully. "Thank you, Sir. But as I said, Ron's doing quite well actually. And I was hoping that him joining us for the lessons would help to motivate Harry."

After that they stared at each other in silence for some moments and as he had no idea how to stretch this small-talk any further he said: "Did you carry out the task I gave you last week, Miss Granger?"

“You mean taking the potion, Sir? “ she asked and looked at him with wide, nervous eyes.

“…and hiding whatever you found out, yes. I want you to feel prepared before I enter your mind this time. If you don't feel that that's the case, you can always come back next week."

It was definitely the right thing to say, as the girl immediately seemed to relax in her seat. He had given her an out and for a moment she saw her contemplating if she should use it. But in the end, she decided against it.

“No, I want to stay, Sir. I prepared myself as good as I probably can on my own. And even if you are able to find the memory you are looking for, I… I trust you, Sir. You once gave me the promise that whatever you learn from my mind will not leave the room. And I trust this promise still stands.”

He nodded with an honest smile. “It does. Do not fear, Miss Granger. Your secrets are safe with me. I will not betray your trust, you have my word.”

The girl smiled gratefully. “Thank you, Sir. And thank you for helping me.”

“Don’t thank me, yet. Thank me afterwards, if you still feel the need to do so. Because I intend to be thorough with you today,” Severus promised but the girl just looked at him with a determined nod.

“Alright, Sir. Do your worst then.”

He snorted amusedly and pulled his wand out of his sleeve. “As you wish.”

ssssssss

Hermione's shoulders sagged in relief when Professor Snape finally left her mind after what felt like  _ ages _ . The man had been thorough, that much could be said for sure, but Hermione had put a lot of thought into her defences because the Professor had been right: having a secret that was worth keeping could really motivate a person to do their very best. And that’s what Hermione had done.

"I must say, I am impressed, Miss Granger," the black-haired man said and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “I had my doubts when I started to discover memories in your books again, but I realized that you must have anticipated this.”

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, I wanted it to look like I had chosen this way to protect my memories. Whoever comes and starts looking, has to find something, or he will keep looking."

The Professor smiled. "I see. Well, in this case, I need to congratulate you. Whatever strategy you chose for yourself, it seems to be successful, which means that there is no need to take further lessons from me." 

Hermione looked at him in surprise. It would be their last lesson? She should feel relieved at the thought, especially if one considered the secret she was keeping now, but that was just the thing: Professor Snape was already part of the secret, even though he might not be aware of it. And the realization that having finished her Occlumency lessons meant she would no longer be able to see him outside from her Potions lessons, pained her more than she had thought possible. But the reason for it was obvious to her now.

“Thank you, Sir,” she said and smiled shyly. “I’m glad that you think so.”

He nodded and looked at her with furrowed brows. "Is there anything else, Miss Granger?"

For a moment she froze in her chair. This was the chance to tell him and she should tell him, that much she was sure of. She trusted her Professor, after all, but at the same time, she feared his reaction to her secret. But there was nothing for it, she needed to tell him. Hermione sighed: "I… there is indeed something, Sir."

“Thought so,” he said and looked at her with an inclined head. “Out with it then.”

She took a calming breath. Professor Snape wasn’t the most patient of men and he probably wouldn't appreciate it if she plunged into a big explanation. That's why she decided on the direct approach. "I am the Open Link, Sir. That's what the potion told me."

For a moment he didn't move a muscle and just stared at her unblinkingly. But finally, his hand moved to his forehead and started rubbing it, while the man looked at her with a sigh. "Why are you telling me this, Miss Granger? What do you expect me to do with that kind of information?"

She looked at him with a heavily beating heart. "I don't expect you to do anything, Sir."

He focussed her with his dark eyes. "Let me be frank with you, Miss Granger. It is highly advisable for you to keep that little bit of information a secret. There are many people out to find and secure the Open Link and I thought you were aware of that."

Hermione nodded and stared at him with wide eyes. She hadn't expected for him to sound so… upset. "I am aware of it, Sir. And you're the only person I told or intend to tell. I'm not stupid." She regretted her harsh words as soon as she had spoken them because she was sure that he wouldn't appreciate her tone. But there was no taking them back now.

But the Professor didn't look displeased at all as he nodded towards her. "Good. Because you really are in danger if the news of your condition gets out. The Dark Lord is looking for you. He tasked me to find and bring him the Open Link to be precise. Luckily for you, I never intended to do so but there is no saying how much longer he will accept my failure or many other people he asked to do the same."

Hermione looked at him in shock. Merlin, that was really a desperate situation her Professor was in. And she had just added to the weight on his shoulders. She sighed. “I am sorry, Professor. I didn’t know. And I really don’t want to make this any more difficult for you, but there’s more.”

He looked at her with a sigh. “Of course there is. Alright, tell me.”

Hermione closed her eyes to not have to look at him because she really didn't want to see his face when she told him the next bit. "The Open Link… I… might have attached myself to you, Sir."

There was absolutely no reaction from him, not a single sound and so Hermione was forced to open her eyes and look at him. His face was an expressionless mask, while his eyes stared at her like they were trying to solve a complicated puzzle. But even as she sought out his eyes with hers he didn’t say a word. She swallowed heavily. “I don’t know how these kinds of things work, Sir, but that's what the potion told me. And I thought you should be aware of it."

Finally, he nodded and shook his head with a disbelieving snort. "I have no idea how these kinds of things work either, Miss Granger. There is not a lot of information on your … condition as it is very rare. But I am pretty sure that this connection you seemed to have formed to me, is not permanent and will fade if you find a different, more suitable linking partner. So there is no reason for you to panic as you will not be attached to me permanently."

She looked at him with furrowed brows. “I am not panicking, Sir. I trust you and I guess that is also the reason why the Link chose you for the time being. Are you…. Are you alright with that connection, Sir?”

He looked at her for a long moment. "I am not averse to it if this is what you're worried about, Miss Granger. But I think there should be certain rules to make sure that there are no… misunderstandings between us."

Hermione nodded. That only made sense, she guessed. “I agree. What rules do you have in mind, Sir?”

Professor Snape rubbed his forehead once more and suddenly he looked almost uncomfortable. “There is and there will not be a romantic relationship between us. I am not open for this kind of… offer and I expect you to respect these boundaries.”

"Of course, Sir," she hastily replied with pink cheeks. Merlin, she hadn't even considered that he could interpret her confession in that way, but it made sense of course. "I never intended to…" she motioned between the two of them with their hands, before she broke off her sentence awkwardly.

He nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Furthermore, we have to make sure not to have been seen together too often, as we don't want to raise any suspicions. I understand that we'll have to meet regularly for … the connection to remain intact, but you cannot be seen visiting my office on a regular basis. I would be too dangerous for the both of us."

Hermione stared at him with wide eyes. How should she do that? “I understand, Sir, but I don’t know how to do that.”

He waved her off unconcernedly. "I will teach you the Disillusionment Charm before you leave. It is not part of the Hogwarts Curriculum, but you have proved that you do possess a certain amount of intelligence so you should be able to master it quickly."

She blinked at him in confusion. Did he just compliment her? “Thank you, Sir. That is very kind. Is there anything else?”

He nodded. “Two more things, actually. You will not draw off my magical power, as long as it is not an emergency. This is very important, as I am regularly relying on my magic to keep myself alive. I will abide by the same rule, Miss Granger. I will not use your magic if I am not in dire need of it.”

“That is very thoughtful, Sir. I promise I will not misuse the Link in that kind of way. What is the last thing, Professor?”

At that, the man smiled openly at her. It was such a strange sight, that it made Hermione pause. “As long as we are amongst ourselves, you should call me Severus. It is not strictly necessary if you feel uncomfortable doing so, but considering these new circumstances…”

Hermione nodded with a smile. "Of course, Severus," she said and tested the feel of his name on her tongue. "But you'll call me Hermione in return."

Severus smiled. “As you wish. That would be all, from my side. Is there any other rule, you’d like to establish, Hermione?”

She gnawed at her bottom lip and thought for a long while. But there was nothing she could think of. “No, Sir…. Ah… Severus. There’s nothing else.”

“Good. Then let me show you the Disillusionment Charm before you go.” The Professor got up and motioned for her to do the same. She did so with an eager smile. The next half an hour was the most enjoyable she had had in weeks. Severus was a brilliant teacher if he decided to be. She had made the right decision connecting herself to him, for now. Severus Snape made her feel safe and supported. And the connection to him gave her two things she desperately needed in times like these: an ally she trusted and could rely on and more importantly: time to figure out whom she trusted enough to forge a permanent magical connection to him. Because as it looked love wasn't just a casual thing for her but could connect her permanently to a person, if she decided to act on it. And considering that for most people her age such kind of commitment was unthinkable right now, that left her in a pretty difficult situation.


	17. Not funny at all

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was betaed by the amazing Multilingualism. Thank you, my friend!

The plan was brilliant, Fred thought, and it was so up their alley that no one suspected a thing. They needed a way to collect information from as many people as they possibly could and thanks to Ludo Bagman they knew exactly how to collect them.

"Hey, Lee, mate, do you want to place a bet on who's the Open Link?" Fred asked their best friend with a wide grin and opened his book, that he had specially enchanted for the occasion.

The boy snorted and handed them a Galleon. “My money is on Luna Lovegood, guys," he said with a lopsided grin. "The girl is something else and I think that's what you'd need to be, to let your magical core open like that."

George nodded with a wide grin and noted Lee's prediction down. "Very good, mate. You can come and collect your money, as soon as we know who it is." Lee grinned at him and strolled off. "Sure thing, guys. See you later, then." And with that, he was off. Huh, Luna Lovegood wasn't that bad of an idea, when Fred thought about it. But there was no time to think about it now, as classes had just ended, which left them with the perfect chance to collect some more data. And really, it was only a moment as the next students strolled through the corridor. 

“Oi, Harry! Hey, Ron!” George already shouted after them and the two friends turned around with a questioning look on their faces. “Fancy placing a bet on who’s the Open Link?” The boys looked at them with raised brows. 

“You’re taking on bets? Really?” their little brother asked them in surprise.

Fred nodded with a wide smile. “Absolutely. So if you want to invest some of your pocket money…”

The young redhead looked at him with furrowed brows, before he searched his robes and pulled out two sickles. "That's all I have, guys," he said and handed them the money. "My money's on Lavender Brown."

George looked at him in surprise. “Why her?”

Ron shrugged. “She’s all about love and feelings, isn’t she? Hermione complains she’s hardly talking about anything else.”

Fred nodded and noted his brother’s bet. Then he turned towards Harry. “And you, mate? Want to make a guess?”

The black-haired wizard frowned before he took out a Galleon and handed it over. “I think it’s Hermione," he said and shrugged. "We established that it's not me or Ron and by our luck, it must be her, then. She also changed since the holidays, so I guess that could be another sign."

Fred paused. Harry was right, he thought, but he plastered another unconcerned look on his face. "Alright, mate. A Galleon on Hermione, then," he confirmed and noted her name down. But he was only halfway finished when said witch stormed towards them with a thunderous look on her face. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked in a stern voice that reminded him of Professor McGonagall. Fred looked at her with a surprised grin on his face. She was really breath-taking when she was angry like that.

"We're collecting bets on who's the Open Link. There's already one on you Hermione," he said and winked at her. "Want to make your own guess?"

The little witch looked at her with a dumbstruck look on her face. “Somebody thought it’s me?  _ Who _ ?”

Across from her, Harry shuffled his feet nervously, before he looked at her with a helpless shrug. “It makes sense, don’t you think? You’re brilliant and you’ve been feeling slightly off, lately,” he explained but Hermione just rolled her eyes at his words.

"So? Everybody's been feeling off in the last weeks, Harry and I don't think intellect has anything to do with it." She sighed but Harry looked at her with an unconcerned smile on his face.

"Whatever, Hermione, that's why it's a bet," Ron mumbled and then motioned his head towards their book. "Make your own one. It's fun!"

She looked at her friends like she’d never seen them before. “Fun? You think that's fun?" she shrieked and for a moment it looked like her eyes could throw sparks at them. "I don't find it funny at all! Do I have to remind you how you felt when you thought it was you, Ron? Back then you at least seemed to know what a danger that would mean to you. But now you totally seem to have forgotten that, have you? Is collecting bets even allowed?"

Ron groaned and looked at his friend irritatedly. “There’s no Educational Decree against it, is there? So it’s obviously not forbidden. Don't be such a killjoy, Mione. There's little enough fun going on in the castle these days, as it is.”

But the witch just shook her head in disbelief, before she straightened her posture and looked at him with her chin proudly raised. "It's called  _ Prefect _ , Ronald,” she scolded before she turned around to the twins. "And  _ you _ !" She said with an angry expression on her face, while she pointed her index finger towards Fred's chest. "I really would have expected better of you. Do you have an idea what could happen, if someone like You-Know-Who got this book into his fingers? What would happen to all those people you noted down there?" Fred felt a pang of regret in his chest when he saw how her eyes shimmer with disappointment.

“If you’ll excuse me? I’ve got somewhere else to be.” She said and turned around with her head held high. And just like that, she stalked off.

“Merlin, does anyone else but I think she needs to lighten up a bit?" Ron grumbled and shook his head. "She's been like that ever since she returned from your date in Hogsmeade. What have you guys  _ done _ to her?”

George looked at his little brother in surprise. “She has?”

His little brother nodded with a grumpy expression. "Yeah, but she didn't say what happened."

“Then we won’t say anything either,” Fred answered with a wide grin and closed his book with a snap. “Anyway, guys, we’ll be off now. If you want to place another bet you know, where to find us!”

George nodded and together they strolled towards the next group of students. Fred was suddenly in a very good mood and it hadn’t anything to do with their bets at all.

ssssssss

To say that Hermione was cross would have been an understatement. What did those twins think they were doing, collecting bets like that? Being an Open Link wasn’t a  _ game, _ for god’s sake!  _ F _ or her, it was the scary reality now and she didn’t need anyone who noted her name on some list saying that it could very well be her. What if the wrong people got that into their hands? That would add another stone to the burden she was already carrying around with her.

But it was even worse than that.  _ Harry _ thought it was her, Harry of all people. Merlin, he was the one with a part of You-Know-Who’s soul inside him, the one who regularly had strange dreams. What if the Dark Lord had already read this thought from him and sent his minions to get her?

Hermione felt herself shiver at the thought. What should she do now? Was there even anything she could do? Probably not, because when she started to make a big fuss now, it would make her look even more suspicious, right? And Severus told her that there were enough people watching closely for that kind of thing. But should she just ignore what Fred and George did, even though it could put her in the spotlight? Or should she maybe tip off Professor Umbridge? But what if she got their list into her fingers as a result of that? Would she want to talk to Hermione then? Probably.

Hermione groaned and stormed out of the castle. She hadn't even realized her legs carried her into that direction but when she took the first breaths of cold autumn air, she could feel her head starting to clear. Ever since she knew about her being the Open Link it felt like the walls of the castle were weighing her down or trying to suffocate her. She was sure that the hunt for the Open Link would go on. And no matter who found out about her condition would try to make choices for her. She could even imagine Dumbledore advertising a hasty sealing of a bond, to keep her safe, because in the long term that was the only way to make her uninteresting for those parties searching for her. But that was the thing. She didn't want to connect herself with anybody she didn't really love, just to be safe. And even less she wanted to bind herself to someone, because it would be advantageous to her or them in any way. The thought of doing that made her sick in the stomach.

Without having consciously decided to do so, Hermione walked down to the Black Lake. The shore of it would always remind her of her first and probably last trip into Professor Snape's head. Now, when she stood there she realized how exactly her mentor had visualized Hogwarts and its surroundings. He truly was a master Occlumens and once again Hermione thanked her lucky stars that the man had deemed it necessary to teach her in order to help Harry. What would she have done if fate hadn't helped her find such a valuable ally? If there was someone able to protect her and willing to let her have the freedom to choose a partner for herself then it was him. Yes, he was a grumpy and snarky man most of the time, but being with him in private was much more enjoyable than suffering through his insults during class. She knew now that Severus had to keep up appearances but that made her Potions lessons with him only slightly more bearable. Because every time he looked at her with that cold expression or mocked her enthusiasm during class it  _ hurt _ and it hadn't been like this before. Was it because she was connected to him now? Did the Link make her want to be liked by him? It was possible. But it would mean that the Open Link influenced her feelings even more than she had realized before. Was it also the reason why she had been interested in both Weasley-twins at once? It would make sense, somehow, but on the other hand, it also didn't. Closing the Open Link was only possible with  _ one _ person, right? She would have never been able to build a connection with both of them at the same time and so it was only right, that things ended between them before she got even more attached. It was hard enough as it was for her. 

With a sigh, Hermione turned towards the water and picked up a handful of stones. One by one she threw them into the water and watched how each of them flew a little bit further than the last one. Fred and George had been true to their word and didn’t treat her any differently than before the summer break. They didn’t seem cross or upset and were back to treating her like a family member or a friend again. There were no more touches, no more winks or smiles. And Hermione realized she missed them, terribly. But it would get better with time, she promised herself, and if they kept doing stupid things like taking on bets on who was the Open Link, she would probably get much faster over her feelings for them than she deemed possible now.

sssssssss

Dolores had just finished her teaching for the day and retreated into her office when there was a hesitant knock on her door. She didn't expect any visitors as they were rare in Hogwarts, which left her alert and excited as she voiced her invitation to enter. For a moment nothing happened, but finally, her door was opened hesitantly and a nervous-looking, blonde girl stepped in. Dolores knew her from her lessons of course and as the fifth-grader stepped closer she used the time to recall everything she knew about the girl. Then she plastered a polite smile onto her face and looked at her before she said: "Yes, Miss Brown? How can I help you, Dear?”

The girl, which Dolores realized was quite pretty, looked at her with a nervous expression on her face. “May I sit down, Professor?”

“Of course, my Dear. Take a seat. Would you like a cup of tea?”

Miss Brown nodded and sunk onto the cushioned chair in front of her desk. Dolores had purchased that piece of furniture mostly because of the clever enchantment that was woven into it. The chair was designed to let whoever used it relax and calm down, as it would make it more likely for the person to feel comfortable in her office and therefore talk. And when she looked at the Brown-girl after she had filled two delicate porcelain cups with the tea she could see, that the enchantment had already started to take effect. Very good.

“Now tell me, my precious girl, what can I do for you?”

The girl looked at her with her cheeks coloured in excitement. “I came to ask for your help, Professor. I recently discovered that... I am the Open Link, Ma’am.”

Dolores looked at the girl with wide eyes and a delighted smile on her lips. Finally! But it wouldn't do her any good to let her excitement cloud her judgement now. She would need more information before she really believed it was her. "How did you come to that conclusion, Miss Brown?"

“I already suspected it for a while, Ma’am. There have been all these strange feelings inside me and I started to feel so  _ confused _ . But today... I was in my divination class, Professor. And Professor Trelawney, who is a big seer, took my hand and suddenly... she  _ saw _ it." There was a seer at the school? Why hadn't she been informed of that fact? Was that another one of Dumbledore's schemes to keep her out of the line? Probably. She was sure the old man wanted to claim the Open Link for himself. She knew he was eying the Minister’s position for a while now and aligning himself with the girl would have been the perfect move after he had so selflessly declared the return of You-Know-Who. Very clever, but unfortunately for him not nearly clever enough.

“She saw it, you say?” Dolores asked in could barely reign in her excitement. “What did she say? Did the other students hear it, too?”

Lavender Brown nodded with wide eyes. “They did, Professor, which is why I came to you immediately. What am I supposed to do now? You said that there was certain danger for the person being the Open Link.”

Dolores nodded with a solemn expression. “There is, indeed. But luckily you came to me, right away. Don’t fear, the Ministry will take care of you, immediately.”

“Thank you, Professor,” the girl replied with a tremble in her voice. “I’m so glad you’re here for me.”

"Of course, my Dear," she replied and took the girls trembling hand on the table. Luckily for Miss Brown, the Minister had chosen her, Dolores Umbridge, for the position as School Counsellor. Because Dolores knew what was to do. She'd contact the Minister right away and with a bit of luck, they'd be on their way to the Ministry an hour later. Dinner with the Minister and their new warden – wasn’t that a thing to look forward to?

ssssssss

Severus was pleased with himself. Being the true Slytherin he was, he had played his cards quite nicely. He hadn’t only won Miss Granger’s trust and secured the Open Link for himself, but he had also taught the girl Occlumency and in turn provided her with the tools to defend herself if it became necessary. But more importantly: they had agreed on a set of rules to protect them both. The girl hadn’t made a fuss at all and accepted them with a thankful smile.

Once in his life, he had indeed been lucky, not only by finding the girl but that it was Hermione Granger in the first place. Heaven forbid if it had been one of these other morons, whose presence he could hardly stand. Building up a friendly relationship with them would have been a nightmare and teaching them Occlumency or any other useful thing,  _ impossible _ . Not to think of possible confused teenage hormones including the danger that one of those silly gooses could have suddenly imagined being in love with him.

But as things were, fate had chosen Hermione Granger, the  _ one _ student with not only brains but also enough courage and discipline to make something of this impossible situation. She was the one who could turn the tables in this godforsaken war, who could make a  _ difference _ . And Severus would be damned if he wouldn’t grab this chance with both hands and help her do the impossible. If this meant befriending the girl for it, so be it. He wasn’t a totally unsociable bastard after all, no matter what was said about him behind his back.


	18. Truth or lie?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I hope you still like the story. At the moment it's all very Hermione/Severus centred, but the twins will be back soon. You'll only need a bit more patience. I'm not sure about the update schedule for the next weeks, as Corona is shaking up everything a bit and I'll barely have time for writing. But I have four more finished chapters after this one, so I'll at least be able to post once a week. Anyway, let me know what you think. You've been suspiciously silent about the last chapters.
> 
> This chapter was betaed by my writer friend Multilingualism. You should check her out, in case you haven’t done so already. 

Dolores Umbridge was very pleased with herself. She and the Open Link had made it safely out of Hogwarts and that hadn't been easy. She had barely finished her communication with the Minister with the help of the magical mirror he had given her for such an occasion when the Headmaster appeared right in front of her office door and demanded to be let in. And Dolores knew that it was only a matter of minutes or even seconds before he would break through. The castle wards responded to him, as the Headmaster of the school, and there wasn't much to be done to keep him out, which only left the option for them to leave the castle as quickly as possible.

Luckily for them, the Minister was a wise man and had already anticipated this situation.

"You're not safe here, Miss Brown," Dolores told her student hastily and saw that the girl stared at her office door with wide eyes. Dolores followed her look and saw with worry that the door had already started to gleam in blue light. They needed to get out – fast, as they had probably only seconds, until the wards to her office would break. "We need to get you to the Ministry. Minister Fudge will know how to help you."

The girl blinked in confusion. “But this is Professor Dumbledore, Ma’am. Do you think he would hurt me?”

Dolores had to stifle a groan. Silly goose! This was really not the time to discuss the girl’s confused teenage-feelings. But she reigned her frustration in and said with a collected voice instead: "No, Miss Brown, I don't think the Headmaster intends to hurt you. But he is determined to get you and use you for his own machinations. I can't force you to come with me, of course, but the Headmaster Dumbledore will probably lock you away and not let you out of his sight. So there is only one chance for us to see the minister, and it is now."

Lavender Brown stared at her with wide, excited eyes. “Alright, Professor. Take me to the Minister then. I want to meet him.”

Dolores looked at him with a wide smile. “And that you will. Now come, there’s no time for us to lose.” With a practised motion she pulled out her delicate rosewood wand and touched the bracelet on her left arm with its tip. “The Minister supplied me with a portkey, for emergencies. Hold on tight.”

The girl hastily put her shaking hands on the portkey and it wasn't a second too soon. Dolores just felt the familiar tug behind her navel, when she saw the door to her office fly open. But it was already too late. Dolores and her Open Link disappeared just a moment later and all that was left was Dumbledore with a thunderous expression on his face.

ssssssss

The news that Lavender Brown was, in fact, the Open Link had made it through the castle by dinner. Not that anyone but Lavender herself and her friend Parvati believed much of the prophecies, that Professor Trelawney spouted during the day, but when the student visited Professor Umbridge’s quarters right afterwards the lesson everything seemed pretty clear. When the Headmaster himself tried to storm said quarters half an hour later things seemed fairly obvious and so a sigh of relief went through the student body, paired with rumours what would happen to the new-found Open Link. Fred and George had to congratulate their little brother for his intuition for the first time in his life and handed him the eight Galleons and three Sickles with a proud clap onto his back. 

“We didn’t think you had it in you,” Fred admitted and his little brother grunted before he savoured his beans on toast.

“Yeah. Well done, brother,” George added with a smile.

Ron sent them a pleased grin and pocketed the money inside his robes. Then he turned towards his friends that were sitting across from him and said: “See, Hermione? No harm done. We all had a bit of fun and nobody got hurt.”

The girl scowled at him. “This doesn’t make this kind of stuff right, Ron. What if Lavender had preferred to keep things a secret? What if she hadn’t wanted the Ministry’s help?”

Ron snorted. “What does it matter, Hermione? She didn’t. End of story. You just can’t stand that you were wrong this time.” Every sensible man, especially if he knew Hermione Granger, would have known that this was the wrong thing to say. The girl was on her feet in a matter of moments, her back ramrod straight and her head high.

“That’s what you think, Ronald? Really? You think I’m upset because I was  _ wrong _ ?” She shook her head in disappointment, but then a flicker of something appeared in her eyes and she shook her head with a sigh. "Well, maybe I really am. Maybe I need to lighten up a bit, as you said. Obviously, danger isn't lurking behind every corner, as I thought."

George looked at the girl with wide eyes. Was she just trying to  _ apologize _ ?

“I’m sorry if I overreacted,” she said the next moment and looked at them. “I think this whole situation after the Triwizard Tournament is starting to wear me a bit out.” Hermione Granger was apologizing, George realized with a confused blink, for spoiling their fun. Huh.

Meanwhile, Ron grinned unconcernedly. “Yeah, probably. But now that you’ve realized it, you can probably start losing up a bit, huh?”

Hermione nodded. “I’ll try. But you know it’s not easy for me. Anyway, I need to go, guys. I hope to catch Professor Vector before the lesson starts and ask her about her last Arithmancy lesson.”

The boys shrugged. "See you later for Potions then," Harry said and pulled a face. And George snorted. He really didn't envy them for having to suffer the dungeon bat for another year. His time in the Potion Master's presence was luckily over and there was no reason to suffer through the man’s presence ever again, at least outside of Order meetings, and there Snape was luckily rarely seen as far as he knew. If they could also get rid of Umbridge now, then their life would be perfect – well almost. Because one specific person was noticeably absent from it.

ssssssss

Hermione had barely finished her lessons for the day when she found herself disillusioned in front of Professor Snape's office. The day had dragged on endlessly and even if there had been a sudden free period in her schedule, due to the absence of Professor Umbridge, Hermione had counted the minutes until she could finally come here. But now that she stood here, she wasn’t even sure if she was welcome.

“How long do you intend staring at my door, girl?” she suddenly heard the Potion Master’s voice in front of her and just then she realized that the door was suddenly open and the man was standing right in front of her. How had he known she was here? “Do you plan to come in, or are you just admiring the woodwork?”

He didn’t wait for her answer and just stepped aside. Hermione only hesitated a moment, before she followed him in. His office door closed as soon as she entered, but to her surprise, Severus didn't stop there and went to the door that connected the room to his private quarters. She followed him with slow, measured steps to the sofa she had found herself on a few weeks ago and let her disillusionment drop. Then she let herself sink onto the soft, leathery fabric. The Professor sat down in one of the leathered armchairs at her left a moment later.

“Sorry, for disturbing your afternoon, Sir,” she said sheepishly and stared into her lap. She, therefore, couldn't see his reaction but his voice sounded totally neutral when he replied: "I already expected you, so you were not disturbing anything.”

Hermione looked up at him in surprise and blinked. “Oh.”

“Don’t look so upset, Hermione. It was quite obvious, after watching you during breakfast. You need to learn to keep your emotions in check.” His voice was surprisingly kind, but Hermione still felt the sting of tears behind her eyes. “It’s only a matter of time until our dear High Inquisitor notices that they’ve got the wrong person.”

She nodded. “Does that mean you don’t think I made this up? I wasn’t sure because…”

Severus looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Because what? Because the whole school seems to believe this laughable display? I didn't think you took me for a moron, Hermione."

“I didn’t! I don’t!” she hastily assured him with wide eyes. “It’s just that even the Headmaster seems to believe it’s Lavender…”

He snorted. “So? Albus Dumbledore is not known to spend much time in the presence of his students. He hasn’t suffered through four years of teaching that insufferable girl. She’s as much of an Open Link as I’m a sociable person. And just because Sybil had another of her  _ visions _ , I’m not going to be convinced otherwise.”

Even though she wasn’t even aware of it, Hermione’s shoulders sagged in relief. “When you put it like that… Sorry, if I'm being ridiculous. It's just… My friends are a bit much for me these days. Can you imagine? Fred and George were starting to take on bets on who's the Open Link like this was some sort of  _ game _ and nobody seemed to understand, what a bad idea it was collecting names of potential candidates like that."

“Let me guess, they thought you were overreacting,” Severus said calmly but with a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

She nodded in frustration. “Yeah. And the worst part about it, my name was even on that list;  _ Harry _ put it there.”

Her Professor hummed thoughtfully before he got up to prepare some tea in the kitchenette that Hermione could see in the back of the room. For a while, he didn't say anything and Hermione listened to the clatter of dishes, while she tried to calm her agitated thoughts. It wasn't long until he placed a steaming cup of tea in front of her, while he sat down with his own one in hand. "Let me be frank with you, Hermione. It will only be a matter of time, I think days before it becomes known that Miss Brown is not the Open Link. There seems to be a way of testing it in the Department of Mysteries and if I have to make an educated guess, this is where Miss Brown, our High Inquisitor and the Minister are currently heading. As soon as she's back in school, the hunt for the Open Link will start again and as time goes by the measures to find said person will get more and more desperate."

Hermione nodded. An uneasy feeling had settled in the pit of her stomach and she could feel herself starting to tremble at her Professor's words. "I know," she said silently and took a careful sip from her cup before she placed it on the table with shaking fingers. "But what am I supposed to do then?”

Severus looked at her with his dark eyes and for a moment he didn’t reply. Then he sighed, rubbed his forehead and said: “Well, there’s an easy way out of this situation. Get yourself a boyfriend and… seal the bond.” His expression was totally neutral when he said it, but Hermione still stared at him with wide eyes. “What? You want me to… no. Absolutely not. I can’t just pick someone and  _ get it over with _ . I’d be linked to him for life and I’m not doing this if I’m not sure if I love him.” 

The man sighed. "I know. But I still wanted for you to know all your options, not just for now but also for later when things get more desperate."

“I understand,” she said and hung her head.

"Good. As this currently doesn't seem an option, you'll have to improve your acting skills. Not only your friends noticed that there's something amiss with you and that has to stop, immediately. You need to learn to lie, Hermione, and you need to learn it fast.”

He had a point, Hermione realized, but there was a huge problem. She wore her heart on her sleeve. Lying was the one thing she really wasn’t any good at. “How? I’m such a bad liar and it’s not like I can walk around and just  _ practise _ .”

Severus sighed. “Then you’ll have to practise with me, I guess. Because as it seems, there’s nobody else.”

The whole situation was totally surreal and if anybody would have told her that she'd be sitting in Professor Snape's private quarters and he'd offer to teach her lying while they were having tea together, she would have laughed and thought they were taking the Mickey out of her. But fact was, that this was her new reality and somehow she'd have to adapt. "Alright," Hermione said and sighed.

"Let's make this a game, then, like truth or lie. Do you know this one, Hermione? I'll start telling you something. This way you'll probably feel a bit more comfortable when it's your turn. It could also help to establish the link between us a bit further."

Hermione stared at him with wide eyes. “You want to strengthen the link? But I…”

The man looked at her with a stony expression. “Stop right there. I remember the rule we established and I mean it. There will be no romance between us, not ever. This ship has sailed for me, so stop panicking Hermione. Still strengthening the bond would be advisable, as it would help us when things start going south. Currently, our magical cores are only liked by something like a small straw. It is enough to stabilize your magic, but in case you get attacked, it won't be much of a help. But the more we start to… know and trust each other, the wider the straw becomes. Ideally, I'd prefer something like a pipe in case we have to draw magic from each other fast."

“I think I don’t understand what you’re suggesting, Severus,” Hermione said and looked at him with a helpless expression. The man sighed and Hermione could have sworn that he suddenly looked a bit uncomfortable.

“I  _ suggest _ that we try to get to know each other better. And hopefully, we'll discover that we are not totally averse to spending time in each other’s presence.” 

She looked at him with a small smile. “Alright. And who knows? Maybe we’ll even become friends.”

He looked at her with a raised brow. “Was that your attempt telling me your first lie, Hermione? Because it almost sounded convincing.”

The chuckle escaped her mouth before Hermione could help it. "That’s only because I was telling the truth. The last weeks showed me that I didn’t know you very well, Severus and you’re right. It’s time to change that.”

At that, the corners of his mouth twitched. “Alright. Then let’s start our little game. Are you ready?”

Hermione nodded eagerly before she started studying Severus' expression. It was only a moment before he said: "I always wanted a cat when I was a kid. I was never allowed to have one, though and today I'm glad I wasn't. Merlin knows what would have happened to the poor animal in my father's presence."

The man stared at her with a serious expression and Hermione shook her head in frustration. It was impossible to tell, if he had just lied or if this really was a sad story from his childhood. She sighed. “It’s the truth,” she said and stared at him to wait for his answer.

The man sighed. “No, it was a lie. I just told you what you wanted to hear, which made lying even easier. I don’t even like cats, Hermione. They’re far too bossy for my liking.”

She couldn’t help but snort before she looked at him with a raised brow. “And you don’t like to be bossed around? How very surprising.” Hermione managed to hold her laughter in for a second before it erupted out of her with a snort and she started giggling helplessly. Within moments she had to hold her aching tummy, but the giggles would and would not stop, not even when she saw Severus' dark expression. That only made it worse. And so it was many minutes later when the last giggles finally died down and Hermione looked at her Professor while wheezing for air. “Sorry, Severus, but I think I needed that.”

The man looked at her with an unreadable expression on the face. “I’m sure you did. Well Hermione, now it’s your turn. Tell me a truth, or a falsehood, your choice.”

She took a deep breath and started to think. Lying to him would be almost impossible, as he had seen most of her memories anyway. But they were only doing this for practice anyway. "I’m afraid of heights. When I was a little girl I climbed into a tree in order to get a ball that was stuck there. I fell down and broke my arm. Ever since I’m afraid to leave the ground.”

Hermione stared at her Professor and tried not to blink. The man looked at her with a thoughtful expression, until finally, his mouth twitched. "The part with the tree was a lie," he said and looked at her with a raised brow. "For the rest, I'd say it was the truth."

She groaned in disappointment. "Yeah, you're right. How could you tell I was lying?"

“Your eyes. You didn’t blink, not once which was very suspicious.”

Hermione nodded in resignation. “Right, I’ll remember to blink next time then. Your turn, Professor.”

The man nodded with an almost bored expression. “My best friend as a child was a muggle-born. I met her before we even got our Hogwarts letters but when we finally were at school, we were sorted into different houses. Later on, I mucked things up, badly and I'm still regretting what I've done."

Again, there was nothing in his expression that could give away, if her Professor just had lied to her. But she remembered that he was probably again telling her things she wanted to hear and said: “That was a lie.”

The man shook his head with a sad expression. "No, unfortunately, it wasn't. I wish it was."

Suddenly Severus didn't look like her Professor at all and instead, there was a sad, lost man sitting in front of her. And Hermione's heart went out for him. "I'm sorry, Severus. Can I… is there anything I can do?"

He shook his head with a carefully blank expression on his face. “No. It was many years ago. She’s dead now.”

Hermione winced in sympathy. “And you never made up, before she died? Oh, Severus!" Before she knew what she was doing she leapt from the sofa and pulled him into an embrace, while standing in front of the armchair. It was an awkward position and for a moment Severus was stiff as a board, but finally, his body relaxed a bit and she could feel his hand pat her back. 

“I… it’s alright Hermione, I’m alright,” he assured her awkwardly and she hastily pulled away from him. But instead of going back to the sofa she kneeled down in front of him and looked at him with sad eyes.

“You’re lying,” she said and in another fit of boldness, she took his hands into hers. "And don't even try denying it. I can see it in your eyes."

Severus Snape stared down at her and nodded slowly. “I know. But it’s the lie I keep telling myself in the hope that I’ll believe it one day and make it the truth.”

She gently pressed his hand and nodded. "I understand. And I'm not judging you, Severus Snape. But I want you to know that you are no longer alone because now, you have a new friend, Severus. She's a muggle-born too and quite bossy sometimes. You'll have a hard time scaring her off because she already knows all your dark looks and is not afraid of them."

He stared at her with a confused look on his face. “You’re asking me to be my friend?”

Hermione shook her head with a smile. “No, Severus, I am not asking you anything. I am merely letting you in on the facts. I am your friend, not because of the Open Link, but because I want to be. I want to be there for you and I know you’ll be there for me. Don’t try denying it. I know you are a good person, Severus Snape, you won’t convince me otherwise.”

The man blinked at her with an open mouth. “Are you… you are not trying to sell me another lie, are you?”

She shook her head with a smile. “No, I meant it, every word. And now I’m going to hug you again and not just to prove my point.”

Severus looked at her with a crooked smile. “You really  _ are _ bossy, aren’t you?”

Hermione snorted. “Absolutely. So better you get used to it, now. Luckily for you, I'm not a cat though. And now come here.” She pulled him into another hug and this time Severus hugged her back - tightly. And it didn’t feel awkward at all, Hermione though. No, somehow it just felt right. 


	19. Dark clouds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I worked really hard to be able to upload this chapter for you today. Currently, I'm stuck inside doing home-office while watching my very energetic toddler, which means that it's hard to get anything done. But as I'm currently in isolation with almost no chance of getting outside, as probably most of you, I wanted to have at least some contact to people and so I wanted to share another chapter with you. You'd make me very happy if you'd leave a comment for me, not just about how you liked the chapter, but how you are in general. I'm really interested to hear from all of you!
> 
> This chapter has been betaed by my friend Multilingualism. Thank you for helping out again!

School could have been so much more pleasant with the High Inquisitor out of Hogwarts now, but the peace only lasted for a day and then hell broke loose. Fred and George had just made it down to the breakfast table when the first owls swooped down and delivered their cargo to the people around them. The twins didn't expect anything as they were not the type to subscribe to the newspaper and their mum only wrote them once a week and her letter was usually delivered on Mondays.

“No!” they heard the shocked gasp from across the table and when they looked up, they saw Hermione pointing at the newspaper, which she received daily, with her eyes wide in shock. Harry and Ron sat left and right to her today and they were leaning in to read, whatever she had found on the first page of the Daily Prophet. The headline was big and easy to read, even upside down. "Open Link disappeared from the Ministry," the newsletter stated in bold, black letters and below there was a picture of Lavender, who was shaking Minister Fudge's hand with a shy smile. Fred could only guess what it meant, but it wasn't long until listening in to Hermione's conversation with her friends supplied him with all the facts. 

“Bloody hell,” Ron exclaimed and put his fork down like he had just lost his appetite. "She really disappeared right under Fudge's nose?"

“Looks like it,” Harry confirmed with a sour expression. “She should have never left Hogwarts. Dumbledore would have been able to keep her safe, but Fudge? The Ministry is full of Death Eaters and I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them made her disappear. And it’s not like they upped their security since summer, as they still refuse to accept that Voldemort’s back.”

Hermione nodded with a tired expression. “Yeah. The article says that they’ve just been on their way into the Department of Mysteries, but it doesn’t say why. And somehow Lavender just disappeared into thin air. I bet You-Know-Who has her, even though the Prophet tries to blame Dumbledore. I wouldn’t be surprised if Professor Umbridge will be back to the castle within the next hour and start looking for her.”

Harry sighed. “Probably. They keep denying Voldemort’s return, after all, so they can’t very well admit that he has her. But, Merlin, that’s bad. What if he manages to convince Lavender to forge a bond to him? He’d become even more powerful then.”

“Then let’s hope it’s not him who has her, even though that’s probably wishful thinking,” Ron said and started piling eggs and bacon onto his plate. George shook his head and looked at Fred with a worried expression.

“Do you reckon Dumbledore will try to save her?” he asked and his twin shrugged with a dark look on his face.

“Dunno. First, he has to find out where she is. And that won't be easy. It's not like the guy has an address or something," Fred replied.

“Yeah. Which means we are more or less fucked,” George said and sighed. Merlin, he had hoped this would turn out to be a good day. He’d never been so wrong in his life.

ssssssss

Dolores was having a really bad day. This should have been the day, where the Minister congratulated her for her great work but instead Lavender Brown had somehow managed to disappear right under her nose. This shouldn’t have been possible, the Ministry of Magic was one of the safest places in wizarding Britain after all, but that didn’t make the girl’s sudden disappearance any more real. As soon as Dolores realized that the Open Link was gone, she sent the whole Auror corps to search the Ministry. But as the minutes and hours trickled by it got more and more certain that the girl was no longer there. Where was she? Who had taken her and how? It was all a big mystery, but for Dolores, there was only one possibility. Because there was one person that wanted the Open Link's support as much as the Minister wanted it: Albus Dumbledore. He had the power to take the girl from them, to abduct her without anyone noticing, and the fact that he had constructed the story of You-Know-Who’s return to strengthen his claim on the Minister’s position only made it more obvious to what lengths the old wizard was willing to go. But unfortunately for him, Dolores knew exactly what he was capable of and so she had no qualms to utilise the strength of the security department and bring ten Aurors back with her to Hogwarts. If the Open Link was back to the castle, then Dolores would find her and if it was the last thing she was doing in her life.

It was noon when she finally arrived at the castle. The students were all back to their afternoon lessons already and so there was no one waiting for them when they passed the gate to the Hogwarts grounds, no one but the Headmaster himself. The man wore a richly decorated robe in a dark purple colour and looked at the assembled Aurors with a curious expression on his face, while his hands were clasped behind his back.

"Good day, Dolores. I see you are back to the castle. To what do I owe the pleasure of your hasty return?"

The old man looked at her with a twinkle in his blue eyes and it took all her willpower to keep her composure. Because he knew very well, what made her return to the castle. “We are looking for Miss Brown, Headmaster, and we believe that she is here, at Hogwarts.”

"But she isn't, Dolores. In fact, you are the person who removed her from the castle and therefore made her leave the protective wards that were supposed to keep her safe." He looked at her with a sad, disappointed expression but Dolores was not buying it.

"That was before you brought her back, Dumbledore. But we'll find her, no matter where you are trying to hide her from me and if we do, be assured that the Minister will hear of your betrayal,  _ Headmaster _ . This will have consequences for you.”

The old man bowed his head in acknowledgement. "Unfortunately for all of us, Miss Brown is not at the castle, Dolores. There's only one person who's powerful enough to let her disappear like this, but as long as the Ministry keeps denying his return, I fear, there isn't much either of us can do." With that, his eyes left her and drifted towards the assembled Aurors. ”I’m sure there will be consequences for Miss Brown’s disappearance and we’ll all have to face them rather sooner than later.”

The men stared at the Headmaster with wide eyes and Dolores could feel them shifting nervously next to her. But she would not be discouraged that easily.

“Well, Headmaster, unfortunately, the Minister and I have seen through your lies. We know this is only a plot to claim the Minister’s position for yourself, but we are not falling for it." With that, she turned to the assembled Aurors. “Aurors of the Ministry! The Minister tasked us to find Miss Brown and we will not rest until the girl is found. We will not leave any stone of the castle unturned do you hear me?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” the men chorused and saluted towards her. 

"Very well, every teacher that refuses to cooperate is to be treated as an enemy to the Ministry and will be removed from the castle," Dolores continued and the Aurors nodded in understanding. Then Dolores turned back to Dumbledore and looked at him with a warning expression.

"We will start searching the castle now. I strongly advise you not to interfere, Dumbledore, otherwise I am entitled to remove you from the castle, Professor.”

The man nodded, but to her dismay, he didn't look worried at all. "Very well, Dolores. I wish you good luck," he said and nodded with a smile. If he meant their search or the attempt to remove him from the castle, he did not say.

ssssssss

It was only three days until the next Hogsmeade weekend and to Hermione's surprise, the trip was not cancelled, even though Lavender Brown was still not found. As she had predicted, the Ministry had sent its Aurors to search the castle but after two days of intensive search and disruption of their lessons, the Aurors had finally disappeared and only a very grumpy Professor Umbridge stayed behind. She had declared that she was still convinced that the Open Link was in fact at Hogwarts and so she would resume her position as High Inquisitor and monitor the castle in the hope to find the girl. It was a futile hope, Hermione thought, but it was enough for the Ministry employee to stay at the castle. And so there was again one more pair of eyes she had to be careful of.

“Let’s go to Honeydukes first,” Ron stated, as he, Harry and Hermione strolled down the footpath towards Hogsmead. It was a blessing to finally get out of the castle for a while. "I heard they have a variety of new Halloween sweets and I'm determined to try them all."

Hermione sighed. "You know, Ron, somehow I get the impression that you want to spend all the money you got out of the bet at once."

The boy nodded enthusiastically. “ ‘Course I do. But don’t worry, I won't spend it all on sweets. Zonko’s has a new Halloween collection, too.”

Harry grinned. Of course, the boys would think it a great idea, even though Ron would have been much better off, saving the money. Because it would only be some days before he would start to bemoan his lack of money again because the sweets and joke products would be spent then. She shook her head in exasperation. “I guess there’s no chance to convince you otherwise,” she said with a sigh and Ron grinned.

“Nope. Once in my life I have enough money to finally have some fun at Hogsmeade and I’m going to enjoy that,” her friend declared with a goofy grin.

Hermione sighed. Sometimes she really couldn’t understand those boys. One of their fellow Gryffindors was missing, for Merlin’s sake. How could they even feel like celebrating at all? But she remembered Snape’s words and even though old Hermione would have still scolded them, it was probably the wiser choice to just tell them what they wanted to hear. “Alright. It’s your money Ron and I’m not your mum.”

“Really? You’re not going to tell me off because of this?” Ron asked her in disbelief, just as the first houses of the village came into view.

She nodded and tried to keep a straight face. It was her chance to shake off some suspicions that still might lay on her and practise her acting skills. "No, I'm not. As it looks there won't be many other happy Hogsmeade outings in our future. Now that  _ he _ has the Open Link…” She shook her head. “Who knows how long it will be, until we are no longer allowed to even go? So I guess we should enjoy the time we have left as good as we can.”

The boys nodded solemnly. “Guess you’re right,” Harry agreed with a sad smile. “Will you come with us then?”

She nodded with a smile. “As I don’t have a date today, there is no reason why I shouldn’t. As long as there’s some time for me to visit the bookshop?”

“Sure,” Ron said with a lazy smile. “And afterwards we’ll all go to the three broomsticks. Butterbeer’s on me, today.” 

“Sounds like a plan,” Harry said cheerfully. “Let’s all try to enjoy the day, Okay? As much as we can.”

Hermione nodded. “Yeah, let’s do this, as much as we can.” Which in her case wasn’t all that much, but that was something the boys didn’t need to know.

ssssssss

The last weeks of the year were a challenge for Fred and George. Ever since the High Inquisitor's return to the castle six new Educational Decrees were released, each of them more ridiculous than the one before. It was no longer allowed to play music in school - George didn't even have an idea why that was supposed to be forbidden – and since a few days, there was now an Inquisitorial Squad at the castle that was watching out for any sign of the Open Link. Ironically this squad mainly consisted of Slytherins and Fred was pretty sure that they would never hand over Lavender to Umbridge if she was ever found at the castle, which was highly improbable. But the members of Umbridge’s little amateur Aurors were still annoying enough to make the twin's life a living hell. Because the Inquisitorial Squad was not only on watch-out for the Open Link, but they were also tasked to monitor the student's compliance with the Educational Decreed. They were even allowed to take points if they found that someone overstepped a rule. This meant that Umbridge suddenly had at least 40 eyes and ears which meant that they couldn’t even sneeze without her knowing. It wasn’t only bad for their business, which they had planned to start by selling products to their fellow students, but also for their morale. Because pulling pranks or doing anything else that could have been fun was nearly impossible. And Fred and George hated it.

But it wasn't until two weeks before Christmas until things went really south. It was the middle of the night when they were suddenly awoken by a very dishevelled-looking Professor Mc McGonagall. They found themselves back in her office only minutes later and to their dismay they found that Ginny and Ron were already waiting there for them with solemn expressions on their faces.

“What happened? What’s wrong?” George hastily asked them but just as Ron wanted to answer him, Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and said:

“Your father has been attacked. He… was on duty for the Order tonight but he’s been found badly wounded, which is the reason why I called you here.” 

Fred nodded mutely, even though he felt his heart beat heavily in his chest. Merlin, this was bad. “Attacked by whom?” he asked confusedly and stared at his Head of the House. “And where?”

“It was the snake, You-Know-Who’s snake,” Ron immediately answered before the Professor could even open her mouth. “Dunno where, though.”

McGonagall sent him a stern look. “It is of no importance where he was wounded. Important is, that your father has been brought to St. Mungo’s and that your mother has requested the four of you come home immediately.”

George exhaled and anxiously looked at his siblings. “That sounds bad.”

“Yeah,” his sister agreed with a dark expression on her face.

“It’s too early to make any predictions,” McGonagall said with a sigh. “But you should not lose hope. Your father is still alive and he might be for a long time. Nevertheless, your mother needs you as much as he does now."

Fred nodded. “Yeah. We must go home immediately. Is there any way to floo to the Burrow?” 

“Of course, Mr Weasley," the older woman answered with a nod. I'll have the house-elves ready your things within minutes and then you can be off. You'll floo directly from my office, as we don't want the wrong persons to get wind of your early departure into the Christmas holidays."

The four siblings nodded in understanding. “Thank you, Professor,” Ginny said with a sad smile on her lips. “We really appreciate it.”

“Nonsense,” the stern woman replied with a headshake. “That’s the least I can do for you.” And somehow her words didn’t exactly help the twins to feel better.

ssssssss

When Hermione went down for breakfast the next day, she had the feeling that something was seriously wrong. It wasn’t that there was any hint for it in particular, but ever since she got up from her bed, she felt the strange feeling of foreboding in her stomach that simply wouldn’t go away. And it definitely didn’t get better, when she saw Ron and the other Weasleys missing from the breakfast table.

"Where's Ron?" she asked Harry, who was already sitting at the breakfast table looking like he hadn't slept much that night.

“At home, Ginny and the other Weasley’s too,” he murmured silently and Hermione looked at him with wide eyes. “Their father got attacked last night while he was doing something for the Order.”

“Merlin,” Hermione exclaimed and looked at her plate with a churning stomach. Suddenly she wasn’t hungry at all. “How bad is it? Is he…?”

“Dunno,” Harry said with a sad little shrug before he continued to whisper: “It was Voldemort’s Snake who got him. I… I saw the attack in a dream, Hermione.”

She stared at him with wide eyes. “You saw it? Was  _ he _ there, too?”

“Dunno, I don’t think so. It… I saw it through the eyes of the Snake, I  _ was _ the snake in this dream," he whispered and from his expression, Hermione could see how afraid he was because of that. 

"That's bad, Harry, really bad. Didn't you do the exercises I showed you before you went to bed? It's really important and…" she didn't get any further, as he interrupted her with a harsh whisper.

"I know, Hermione. But what would have happened when I didn't have that dream? Dumbledore said they were lucky to have found him that soon, otherwise, he wouldn't have had a chance."

She swallowed heavily. “Okay, alright. I’m just worried about you, Harry. What if that connection starts to get even stronger? We don’t know what this could do to you…”

Harry looked at her with a sour expression. “I know,” he said. “And I swear I’m trying to empty my mind, Hermione, it just doesn’t seem to work.”

She sighed. "Then we need to practise even harder, Harry. We already lost the Open Link to him, Harry, we can't lose you too."

Her friend nodded. “I know. It’s just so hard sometimes.”

Hermione carefully put her hand onto his arm and even though this made the churning in her stomach worse, she forced herself to leave it there. “I know Harry. But you’re not alone in this. You’ve got friends that are there for you. I’m there for you, whenever you need me, okay?”

"Yeah. Okay," Harry said with a tired sigh and even though he cast her a small smile it didn’t reach his eyes. But Hermione couldn’t blame him because she also didn’t feel like smiling at all.

ssssssss


	20. Hard decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my friend Multilingualism this chapter is now also in much better shape. Thank you for your help!

Ever since Mr Weasley’s injury Hermione’s thoughts started spinning in circles. As Severus had predicted the times were getting more dark and dangerous very quickly and Hermione could almost feel the dark clouds forming over her. And she couldn’t help but worry.

How long would it take until it was clear that Lavender was not the Open Link? And what would happen then? Would they ever see her again? And would the hunt for the Open Link begin anew? She didn’t know but she expected that this was only a short reprieve for her.

"Come in," Severus' voice invited her in after she found herself disillusioned in front of his office – again. She expected that it wouldn't be long until the man was fed up with her and her insecurities, but at the moment he was the only person she could openly talk to.

Hermione followed Severus hesitantly inside and cancelled the disillusionment as soon as they had reached his private quarters again. For some reason, he didn't stay with her in his office anymore, but Hermione didn't complain, as she liked his private quarters much better.

“How can I help you today, Hermione?” he asked her patiently as soon as they had both sat down. Hermione had chosen the sofa again and today Severus sat down right next to her. Some weeks ago she would have been uncomfortable with it, but now she enjoyed his calming presence.

“I need your advice, Severus,” Hermione admitted and looked into his black eyes. “I am worried about my parents. It is only a matter of time until Lavender is found out not to be the Link and I don’t know how long I have afterwards until… you know.”

Her friend nodded solemnly and she continued: "But it's not only that. You told me that things will get worse and now that Mr. Weasley was attacked, I realized that we don't know how much longer it will be until Muggles and especially the parents of Muggleborns are attacked.”

"And you are worried they will come after your parents?" he asked her with an understanding expression on his face.

Hermione nodded. “Yeah. But I don’t know what I should do. What  _ can _ I even do? When I tell my parents how dangerous our world has gotten, they will remove me from school and most likely move to France or something. But if I don’t tell them, then it’s only a matter of time until they become a target, right?”

Severus sighed. “Most likely, yeah. It's hard to say how much time there is left, but as soon as you are found out, they will be in danger. I am sorry."

She shook her head. "Don't be. It's not your fault." Hermione gently placed her hand over his and smiled. "To be honest, I don't know what I would do without your support and advice. It's the only thing that's keeping me calm and collected right now. Thank you."

He grunted something unintelligible as a response.

“What should I do, Severus? This whole situation is so much out of my depth that I simply don’t know.”

Her Professor sighed. “That’s a difficult question, Hermione and there’s no right answer to this. It’s a decision you have to make on your own. What do you  _ want _ to do Hermione? Do you want to tell them the truth? Do you want to leave the country? Or do you want to stay here but know that they are safe?”

Hermione thought long about his question. The thought of leaving her friends alone in this mess felt wrong and made her heart ache. But she also needed to keep her parents safe, because she would never forgive herself if something happened to them. She sighed before she told this to Severus.

He nodded with a serious expression. "And you are sure that they wouldn't leave the country without you? Because that's what they need to do if you want them to be safe.”

“No, they wouldn’t. They’d either stay or force me to come with them and as I am not of age…”

Severus stroked his chin before he said: “Then you’ll need to obliviate them and send them away. It’s the only way to get what you want if you’re sure you wouldn’t be able to convince them without the help of magic. But you need to be aware that they might never forgive you afterwards.”

Hermione looked at him with wide eyes. He was right, even though she didn't like the answer he had given her. Modifying her parent's memories? Could she even do that? What if she messed something up? She was only a fifth year, after all. She stared into her lap and folded her hands there. After a while, she started wringing them, but the heaviness she felt on her heart was only increasing. “I’m not sure if I can do that, Severus. It’s not only that I would have to delete something from their mind, but I'd also need to modify their memory. This is really advanced magic."

He nodded. “Indeed.”

Hermione looked at her hands with a small sigh. “I know this is probably too much to ask of you but… could  _ you _ do it? Please?”

Severus’ expression morphed to one of disbelief. “You want me to modify your parent's memories?”

She nodded and involuntarily her lip was back between her teeth. “I know you are not a professional Obliviator, but you do know a lot about the human mind. And you know my parents like no other magical person.” Hermione looked at him with her eyes full of desperation. “Please, Severus.”

He looked at her for a long while and seemed to study her with his eyes. But finally, he sighed and said: "I'll do it. But only if you're sure that's what you want. Asking somebody to do something like that requires a lot of trust."

“I trust you, Severus, absolutely,” she assured him and took his hands once more.

“Very well. Then I'll visit your parent's house two days after Christmas. You'll need a place where you can stay afterwards though, not only for now. But what will you do during the summer holidays?"

She sighed. “There’s always the Burrow. I guess the Weasleys would take me in if I'd ask them. But they might ask questions and I'm not sure how to answer them."

"There's enough time for you to think of something, but you'll have to let them know soon, or otherwise it will look too suspicious."

“I guess you’re right. But I’ll come up with something,” she said and smiled shyly.

He snorted. "I'm sure you will. Just take it as a chance to practise your lying skills, because you'll be forced to use them quite a lot if we're really doing this."

“I know,” Hermione admitted with a solemn expression. “But it’s worth it and I'd do so much more to keep the ones I love safe."

Severus nodded with a grim expression. "Good, because you'll probably have to before this war is over."

ssssssss

The Burrow felt empty without their dad, so Fred and George didn't mind too much when their mum told them that they would move to Grimmauld Place over the holidays. Yes, Fred and George didn't like the dark and gloomy place, but almost losing one's father put some things back into perspective, even for them. Because when there was something both of them loved, it was their family. 

But to their surprise, Grimmauld Place wasn't that dark and gloomy at all. Their mum must have used her free time to clean out some more of the rooms and even though that house-elf was still a grumpy bastard, his owner wasn't much like the person Fred and George had met during their summer holidays. Sirius Black didn't only look worlds better than the thin, exhausted man he had been a few months ago, he also had rediscovered a part of his once cheerful personality. He happily whistled his way through the house and had cheerfully started to put up Christmas decorations everywhere and for some reason, this almost cheered them up as much as the news that their dad would indeed recover because that was the greatest news of all. Their father had survived an attack that was meant to kill him and even though he still looked weak, the smile was already back on his face, when they visited him in his little room at St Mungos. And when he told them that he'd most likely be home for Christmas, it was the best Christmas present he could have given them. 

“ ‘m glad he's okay," George mumbled when the two of them had crawled into their beds in the evening.

“Me too, Georgie,” Fred agreed with a sigh. “But he might not be the next time, you know? If this whole thing has taught me something then it's, that this war is getting fucking dangerous - even more now that the Open Link disappeared on us.”

"I know, Fred. How much longer will it be until the next person dies or disappears? How many of our family will be left next year for Christmas?"

"Let's not think about it now, Georgie," Fred said and a moment later he climbed out of his bed and joined George in his. They used to climb into each other's beds a lot in the past, but as they grew older those occasions became rarer and rarer. Nowadays they only did it, when one of them needed comfort and at the moment they both did. "No matter what happens, it will always be you and me,” Fred said and pulled his brother into a hug.

George nodded against his shoulder. “Yeah, no matter how dark the times will get, I’ll be at your side. And together we’ll pull through, Okay?”

“Absolutely. You and me, Georgie. Voldisnort doesn’t stand a chance.”

sssssssss

Lying to her parents was the hardest, Hermione found, not only because she loved them and it hurt her to do it, but also they knew her since her childhood and so it was easy for them to spot a lie. But Hermione meant what she told Severus. She was prepared to do so much more to keep them safe and so she put on a happy face when she met them at King’s Cross and started chatting happily about her school year. Her parents listened to her happy ramblings all the way home and Hermione entertained them with every happy story she remembered from her time at school. But with every laugh or chuckle from her parents, her heart broke a bit more for them. When she was finally able to close the door to her room in the evening of her first day at home, she buried her face in her pillow and shed bitter tears for the time she would probably never have with her parents and for their trust, that she'd probably lose forever. She wasn't sure how she should survive the days until Severus was finally here and would take them from her, probably for forever. Even though Hermione was at home, she felt as lonely as she did never before in her life and she desperately wished that there was someone, who would hold her and help her through these desperate times. And in a hidden corner of her heart, she realized that it was not one but in fact two boys she was wishing for, even though she knew she could never have them. But just tonight, she allowed herself to dream about them, how it would feel to lie in their arms and be kissed by them. And somehow that made her feel a little bit better.

“Well, honey,” her mum said the next morning after breakfast. “You’ve been suspiciously silent about your love-life ever since you were back to Hogwarts. Wasn’t there this nice red-headed boy? What was his name again?”

Hermione groaned inwardly. She should have known that her mum would pick the first moment with her dad out of the house to interrogate her daughter. Hermione’s mum knew very well what George’s name was but this was her not-so-subtle way to pick her daughter’s brain. Hermione smiled. “You mean Ron?”

Emma Granger rolled her eyes. “No, not Ron, sweetheart. There was this very handsome brother of his, George, wasn’t it?”

Hermione snorted. "Yeah, there are George and Fred for that matter." She looked at her mum with pink cheeks. Usually, she would have been shy to talk to her about those kinds of feelings, but this was probably the last chance for her to get some motherly advice. And so she said: "They invited me on a date to Hogsmeade, mum.”

“What, both of them?” the woman across from her said and looked at her with a stunned expression.

Hermione pressed her lips together and nodded. “Yeah. They said they wanted me to get to know them better… to be able to decide if I’d want to date one of them properly someday. But the thing is mum…” She swallowed heavily. “I never could…”

“You like them both, don’t you?” Emma Granger said with an understanding smile on her face and Hermione nodded sadly.

"I do. I know I shouldn't because obviously, I can't have them both. But god, I wish I could.”

Suddenly her mum was right next to her and pulled her to her feet and into a hug. "That's what you told them, didn't you?" she asked and stroked her daughter's curls. Hermione nodded mutely against her shoulder.

“I had to. I couldn’t string them along and give them hope for a decision I would never be able to make. It wouldn’t have been fair to any of them.”

“No, it wouldn’t. But the heart wants, what the heart wants, doesn’t it?” her mum asked.

“Yeah,” Hermione admitted sadly. “This was  _ weeks _ ago but somehow I still want them. How long does it take, until these feelings go away, mum?”

“Sometimes it takes weeks, sometimes months. And sometimes not even years are enough to forget a person. Let’s hope it’s not the latter in your case,” the woman said and smiled. “Because growing into an adult is hard enough as it is without having the heartbreak on top of it.”

Hermione snorted. “You don’t say. Believe me, sometimes I feel like everybody around me has started going crazy. Everyone is suddenly so emotional and there’s so much drama around… It’s like being on a rollercoaster of feelings.”

Her mum patted her back lovingly. “It is. But that’s puberty. You’ll pull through one day, don’t worry. And until then you better find yourself a nice guy for a snog or two.”

Hermione giggled. "I bet you're telling me the total opposite from what those pure-blooded witches get to hear from their parents. For them it's all about being proper and upholding the name of their family."

Emma Granger snorted. “That sounds like they’re still stuck somewhere in the middle ages.”

“Yeah,” Hermione replied with a little smile, as she imagined Malfoy's reaction to her mum's words. She was sure he wouldn't like to be called stuck in the middle-ages. But the guy probably didn't even have an idea of how a modern family looked like. "I'm happy I've got two open-minded parents like you." Hermione's heart broke at her words because she knew very well that it wouldn't be long until her parents wouldn't even remember they had a daughter at all. She could only beg that all of them would survive the war and that they would forgive her one day. Not that Hermione had much of a choice in that matter if she wanted to keep them safe.


	21. Separate ways

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That chapter is for my writer friend Moonfairy. It's mostly a fluffy one and she's my queen of fluff. I used up all her fairy dust to write it...
> 
> A big thank you to Multilingualism for betaing this chapter. 

When Severus apparated to the address Hermione had given him, he didn’t know what to expect. He knew Hermione’s home from her memories and he had seen glimpses of her parents, but he didn't know in which mood he'd find either of them. Had Hermione managed to hold up the facade of a happy daughter returning for Christmas? Or had they somehow found out that something was wrong? He didn't doubt that it was a hard decision for the girl to cut all ties to them, but apparently, she loved her parents and making them leave the country and make them forget about her existence was the only way to know them safe.

“Hello, Severus,” the little witch greeted him, while she waited patiently for him on her bed. They had agreed that it would be safest for him to come there directly and as he knew the room pretty well from her mind, there was no reason against it. 

“Hello, Hermione,” he greeted her back with a solemn expression. It was strange. Severus was almost glad to see the girl again. It felt like he had missed her or something but considering the circumstances she probably didn't feel the same. After all, he was here to take her parents from her. “Are you ready for… did you gather everything from the house you need?”

She nodded with her lips tightly pressed together. "I gathered some hairs from each of them, as you told me. I put them into a vial and cast a stasis charm on it. As for my personal belongings...there wasn't much that wasn't already at Hogwarts. I took all the pictures and some other things that could hint towards my existence. I want to keep them in case we can reverse all this one day."

"I understand," he replied and gazed at her. "It's a goal worth fighting for, isn't it? When everything seems lost and you're about to give up, then keep holding to that thought. You want to give those things back to your parents, right? Then you need to fight for it, do you hear me?"

When she nodded Severus could see the tears in her eyes. But he didn’t comment, as he expected many more of them in the next hours. It would be hard for her, as she seemed to love her parents from the bottom of her heart, but Hermione was a strong girl and so Severus had no doubts that she’d pull through.

For a moment they just stared at each other, but finally, he straightened with a sigh and said. "Alright, I guess it's time. Do you want to come with me? Or would you rather wait in your room?” He should have known her answer. The girl was a Gryffindor after all.

“No, I’ll come downstairs with you. Let me go first. I’ll ask my parents to come to the kitchen with me and there I’ll distract them. This way it should be easiest.”

Easiest for  _ him _ , Severus thought, but he didn’t object. “Alright, I’ll still disillusion myself to avoid bad surprises.”

The girl nodded and without a word she rose from her bed. Then she moved slowly to her door and left the room without looking back at him. Her whole body was stiff and the tension was clearly visible in the way she moved. But her parents hopefully wouldn't think twice about it and think anything amiss.

Severus waited patiently for four minutes before he disillusioned himself. Then he slowly opened the door of Hermione's room and tiptoed down the stairs. As soon as he reached the hallway he could hear Hermione's voice from the kitchen.

"How do you like my idea? Mum? Dad?" she asked and looked at her parents with wide, excited eyes. Seeing her like that was almost surreal after he had witnessed her inner turmoil just minutes ago. Now nothing of that was visible any longer and Severus had to admit that the girl had taken his lessons on how to convincingly lie to heart.

“I don’t know,” her father said and hung his head. "I guess we could allow him to stay for a while if his uncle and aunt give their permission."

What the hell were they even talking about? Severus asked himself just as he raised his wand. Just as Hermione’s mother started mouthing her agreeance, he cast the obliviation spell silently on her husband and seconds later he repeated it on her. It was over in under a minute and just as he finished the spell, Hermione leapt from her seat and dashed through the door behind him. He, too, turned around and strode into the hallway without looking back on Dan and Emma Granger, who would remain in their seats for some more minutes, staring into space, before they would snap out of their trance and remember nothing of the last 15 minutes. They would not even remember having had a daughter and instead, they would feel the sudden need to travel.

He and Hermione would have to be gone in a few minutes, but by the look of it, his young friend was ready to bolt from the house and leave her old life behind right away. Severus couldn’t blame her. It must be an incredible pain seeing the people you love simply forget you. Not that understood much of being loved anyway, as he was pretty sure his mother was the only person that ever did and she was dead a long time ago.

ssssssss

Hermione was back in her room in a matter of seconds. She couldn’t have stayed in the kitchen for a moment longer, as looking into the empty eyes of her parents simply broke her heart. She had known what would happen of course, as she’d read everything about obliviation she could get her hands on, ever since Severus had told her, that it was the best option in her case. But, Merlin, it was one thing knowing what would happen, but it was quite another one seeing it happen to the people she loved the most. 

Back in her room, she gathered her luggage with a flick of her wand. Hermione had packed her microscope and all the other scientific equipment, but also her computer and everything else that was dear to her. She didn't know if she'd ever get a chance to use the stuff again, but she would still not leave it behind. Hopefully, this war was over one day and then she'd finally have time for her hobbies again, no matter if it was in a year or in ten.

"Are you ready to leave?" Severus asked as he entered her room just moments after. He looked around with a critical expression on his face and without uttering another word he lifted his wand and transfigured the room. It was only a minute until nothing pointed towards the fact that this was minutes ago a girl's bedroom because now it looked like a plain, unused guestroom to her. Hermione looked around and seeing her room like that finally forced the tears into her eyes. Now it was really like she had never existed. 

She nodded with a sniff. “Thank you, Severus. I’ll just go downstairs and take the Knight Bus to Grimmauld Place. That’s where the Weasleys are.”

He looked at her with a sad expression. "No, Hermione. First, you're coming to my place for a bit and then you'll have tea and a good cry on my sofa, or a firewhiskey if that's what you need. Can't let you go to the Weasleys in that kind of condition. You’re not that good of an actor.”

Hermione shrugged and sniffed again. She really didn’t care where she went, as long as she could leave this empty, foreign room behind. “Alright.”

Severus nodded and took part of her luggage into his left hand. Then he offered her his right arm with a grim smile. “Hold on tight, Hermione. I’ll apparate us both.”

Hermione took his arm without hesitation and before she could mentally prepare herself for the second side-along apparition of her life, they were already gone.

When they landed just a moment later, Hermione could feel her knees buckle under her and it was only Severus' strong grip on her arm that held her upright. At least she did not feel like puking again, as that would have simply been embarrassing in front of her Potions Professor.

“Deep breaths, Hermione,” he told her and she could feel him leading her to a plain, green sofa by the fireplace. There he sat her down and started rubbing her back in slow circles. His kindness was the last straw and Hermione could feel the dam inside her break before the first sob escaped her mouth. It followed another and another one and before Hermione knew it, the tears were streaming down her face. Severus had been right. She was in no condition to face the Weasleys now, not as long as she was unable to compose herself. And right now she couldn’t.

"Do you need anything? A hanky? Tea?” Severus asked and Hermione could hear the nervousness in his voice. It probably wasn’t every day that he had a female crying her eyes out on his sofa.

“Both,” she hiccupped and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

"Alright," he said and got up. He handed her the hanky right away before he went to the kitchen to make some tea. Hermione could hear him clatter with the dishes and somehow the domestic sound helped her calm down a bit. And so her sobs had morphed to silent sniffles when her teacher returned with two steaming mugs full of tea.

“I’ve added two drops of calming draught,” he said casually and handed her the simple black mug with a totally neutral expression. “It will help you to get through the rest of the day and the horde of noisy Weasleys, without making you sleepy or drowsy.” 

“Thank you,” Hermione said under sniffles and accepted the cup from him. “That’s very thoughtful.

He sat down with a shrug. "That's what a friend does, right? They're supposed to dope you with potions when you're feeling down."

For a moment she stared at her mug in silence, before a snort erupted from her nose. Did he just make a joke to make her feel better? “Oh really? I guess your friendship manual is a bit different from mine.”

He smiled before he carefully sipped his tea. “Oh really? What’s in yours then?”

Hermione cleaned her nose before she looked at him with a small smile on her lips. "There was something about giving lots of hugs and murmuring comforting words.” 

Her friend’s lips twitched. “Must have been the girl-version then.”

For a moment they just stared at each other in silence, before both of them snorted and erupted into giggles. There were still tears in Hermione's eyes, but she already felt better than she had minutes ago. Severus had his very own way of comforting her and even if it would never involve lots of hugging or long talks, Hermione didn't mind. Because right now he was the friend she needed, with or without hugs.

ssssssss

It was about an hour later when Severus dropped her two streets away from Grimmauld Place. She had agreed to him apparating her again and this time she had barely any problems to hold herself upright, after having reappeared again. Maybe it was due to the calming draught Severus had given her, or she was just slowly getting used to the feeling. 

“I’ll accompany you to the door,” Severus said and handed her the luggage. “Don’t worry, nobody but you will know I’m there.”

She nodded and with a last thankful smile towards him she turned around and started moving. It wasn't far and so it was only about two minutes until she found herself using the silver doorknocker that had the form of a serpent biting his own tail. Hermione could have sworn that it curled itself around her fingers as she grabbed it.

It was only a moment until the door was opened and the smiling face of Molly Weasley came into view. The Weasley matriarch wore a brightly coloured apron over her simple clothes and she immediately pulled her into a strong motherly hug.

“Hermione! It’s so nice of you to join us!”

Hermione smiled. She didn't even have to force herself to do it, as the older woman simply gave her the feeling of being home, no matter if they were actually at the burrow or in a dark, gloomy house like Grimmauld Place. Still, she was already grateful for the potion Severus had given her. Because Molly Weasley's motherly greeting would have probably been enough to reduce her to a sobbing teenage girl again. "Thank you for having me, Mrs Weasley. My parents were so excited about their skiing trip to Switzerland. They really need a little time for themselves, you know?"

The older woman nodded with her kind eyes full of understanding. “Of course. The boys will be thrilled to have you here. Come in.”

Hermione nodded and followed her with a small smile. And really, just as she had passed the big staircase, Ginny, Ron and Harry swooped down the stairs and pulled her into a six-armed hug. “Hermione!” Ginny shouted happily before she let go of her. "I'm so glad there's finally another girl here. Can you imagine? We've all got our own rooms now. This place is huge, now that it's finally all cleaned out." She chatted happily and Harry and Ron only stood next to the female redhead and nodded. “Well, not Fred and George, but they prefer to be in each other’s company all the time anyway.”

"You say that like it's a bad thing, little sister," Fred's voice sounded from above and when she looked up, she could see the twin's faces peeking down at her with a matching smile on their lips. "But there's nothing to say against the presence of an intelligent and witty conversation partner, right, Georgie?"

“Absolutely, Fred. I’m so glad you appreciate my qualities.”

The other twin snorted. “I was actually describing myself, twin o’ mine.”

George rolled his eyes with a dramatic sigh. “Of course you were. Well, Hermione, if you are ever in need of a witty and intelligent conversation partner, our room is right next to yours.”

They winked at her with a wide smile and somehow Hermione found herself smiling back.

ssssssss

Hermione’s potion-induced composure lasted until she closed the door of her room behind her in the evening. It was the picture of her suitcase that finally let her inner walls crumble and it was only a matter of seconds until the first sob escaped her mouth. The suitcase reminded her that she no longer had a home, or parents she could come home to. She was alone now, couldn’t even trust Harry or Ron any longer with her secrets, because Harry had somehow been “blessed” with a part of Voldemort’s soul and Ron would never be able to keep a secret from his best friend. And so there was nobody she could share her burden with, except Severus. And he was not here, was rarely available anyway and even though she had come to like him, she would always feel kind of embarrassed, if she got overly emotional in his presence. Because emotions were a thing that Severus Snape did not do well. But god, how much did she yearn for a shoulder to cry on and for a pair of arms simply holding her.

Hermione didn't even bother changing into her pyjamas and just threw herself onto her huge queen-sized bed. The Blacks had without doubt been a wealthy family and so her room, which must have been a lady's room once, didn’t miss any comfort she might have wanted. But right now Hermione didn’t care as she simply wanted to lie in her new bed and cry for everything she had lost today and would lose in the following months.

“Hermione? Love, what’s wrong?” a soft voice suddenly murmured into her ear, before she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder. Somehow she must have forgotten to lock and silence the room and so there was suddenly a pair of worried redheads right next to her on her bed.

Gods, she didn’t have the strength lying or even talking to them now and so she simply shook her head and buried her face into the pillow. But Fred and George didn’t let her reaction discourage them and before she knew what happened, she was gently lifted into one of their laps, while another set of arms gently cradled her from behind.

"It's alright, love. Whatever it is, we're here, huh? You can talk to us if you want." This was George, she knew him by his voice. He was the one behind her then.

Hermione answered by shaking her head again before another sob escaped her mouth. She was pretty sure that by now Fred’s trousers would be covered in snot and tears, but somehow she couldn’t find herself to care.

“No talking, huh? Must be bad then,” Fred said and stroked her hair with his fingers. “Alright. Looks like you’re in dire need of a Weasley-cuddle then." Before Hermione could process what he was saying, he carefully got up and lied down next to her on the bed. His brother did the same and so it was only seconds later that she was tightly sandwiched between her two favourite Weasleys. Fred spooned her from behind, whereas George was right in front of her and pulled her against his chest. There he held her tightly, while he rocked her in his arms and somehow this helped to soothe her nerves. Hermione didn’t know how long they held her like this, but after a while, her sobs died down. When her tears finally stopped falling she realized that George's shirt was totally soaked by now but her friend didn't even seem to notice. Instead, he had his face buried in her curls and mumbled something unintelligible into her hair. 

“Thank you boys, I think I really needed that,” Hermione admitted against George’s chest. “I’m better now, thanks.”

“Good,” Fred said behind her, without letting go. “Do you want to talk about it now? We won’t tell a soul, we swear.”

She felt George nod into her hair. “Absolutely. And we won’t judge, you know? Whatever it is, you can tell us.”

Hermione wanted to, she really did. Because she felt like she had to talk about it, properly, at last once. And apart from Severus, who wasn’t available at the moment, the twins really seemed to be her best option, they were her friends too, after all. Hermione sighed. She wouldn't be able to tell them the whole story, but at least a part of it. “Today I obliviated my parents to make them go abroad. They no longer remember having a daughter, but in a few days they'll leave the country and hopefully be safe."

“Fuck,” George mumbled in front of her and pulled her even closer. “I’m so sorry, love. I can’t even imagine how that must feel.”

She nodded with a heavy heart. “I keep asking myself if I did the right thing, you know? But with Lavender gone and after the attack against your dad… there’s no saying what will happen next. But I thought with being Harry’s best friend and a muggle-born at that there’s quite a large target on my back.”

“You did the right thing,” Fred assured her from behind without hesitation. "Believe me. I know it was a hard decision, but I think you're right. This war will get much worse before it starts getting better again.“

“Yeah,” Hermione said sadly. “I know. But, God, I miss them and who knows if I’ll ever see them again? I suddenly feel so  _ alone _ , you know?”

"You're not though," George said and a moment later she could feel his hand on her chin. He used it to slowly tilt her head up so that their eyes finally met. "You're not alone, Hermione. Fred and I will always be there for you, you hear me? No matter what…"

She nodded slowly, unable to break their eye contact and her mouth felt suddenly dry. “Alright, thank you,” she mumbled and had the urge to hide against his chest again. But George didn’t let go of her.

“That’s what friends are for, love,” Fred said from behind. “And we are your friends, remember?”

“Yeah,” Hermione admitted before suddenly a yawn escaped her mouth. Merlin, all this crying had really worn her out. But it was probably a good thing, as it would prevent her lying awake and pondering over her fate for hours.

“Sounds like you’re ready for bed, love,” George said and rolled on his back. “Should we try to sleep?”

“You’re staying?” she asked him with wide eyes and stared at him in disbelief.

“ ’Course we’re staying,” Fred said from behind and with a whisk of his wand the lights in the room suddenly went out so that the three of them were surrounded by darkness. “Can’t let you alone like this.”

“But… we can’t… I mean, you’re…” Hermione mumbled, but Fred already conjured a big blanket for them and covered her with it.

“We’re what?” George asked confusedly, but before she could answer he added. “Seriously, Hermione. No one will even notice we’re here. And it’s not like we’re  _ doing _ anything, yeah?”

“Just sleeping,” Fred confirmed from behind her. “Well, and maybe a cuddle or two. We're here to comfort you, after all." Like to get his point across he put an arm around Hermione and turned her around towards him. Then he pulled her close so that her head suddenly rested on his shoulder. And, God, it felt good.

“Alright,” she said with a sigh and relaxed against him. “But I warn you, if you’re snoring I’ll throw you out.”

“Sounds fair to me,” George said casually, scooted closer and put an arm around her waist before he snuggled against her back. And Hermione couldn’t help but note how perfect it felt to be held by them like that. With Fred and George surrounding her like this, she suddenly felt safe again and definitely no longer alone.

In a dark corner of her mind, she wished that it could always be like this. But she knew it couldn’t and so she decided to just enjoy the night. As she slowly fell asleep on Fred’s shoulder, with his scent in her nose, she decided to lock the memory of this night deep inside her heart and when the dark times would finally knock on her door, she’d use it to get her through them. Even if she could not have the twins for herself, she could at least have this.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It's not easy for me to write fluff, but I had the feeling we all needed that in these dark times. Well, I definitely did and Hermione did, too. I hope you are all well and safe and I could give you some distraction with this chapter. I really worked hard to publish it this soon.


	22. Heart to heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I couldn't help myself. I needed some more fluff and so this is what you're getting for the next chapter. But I hope you don't mind. ;-)  
> I hope you're all still healthy. To those who're isolated like me: I hope this chapter helps to entertain you for a little while. It's my greeting to all of you. We can do this, guys!
> 
> This chapter was betaed by the amazing multilingualism. 

When Hermione awoke the next morning, she felt as well-rested as she hadn't felt in a long time. Ever since the discovery of Harry's connection to You-Know-Who her nights had been restless and full of worry and it only got worse since she discovered she was the Open Link herself. During the last days, when the knowledge of what would have to happen to her parents weighed on her conscience, she had barely slept at all and so it was no wonder that her body finally crashed and she slept for ten hours straight. But it wasn’t until she felt somebody shift next to her in bed, that she realized this probably wasn’t the only reason for her restful night. Because there were two more, very good and red-headed reasons in her bed, one of them currently spooning her from behind. She could feel his warm breath tickle her neck, as he exhaled in small puffs, which most likely meant that he was still asleep. But no matter how good it felt to be held like that, Hermione really needed the loo.

With a sigh, she started to wiggle downwards on the bed, because as she was surrounded by them from both sides, there was no other way for her to go. She didn't even manage 10 centimetres though before the arms around her tightened again and pulled her close with a sleepy grumble.

“Stay here; you’re comfy,” George mumbled from behind and a moment later she could feel his nose in her hair. “ ‘N you smell nice.”

Hermione blinked in surprise. Did he really just say that? Well, he was probably still half asleep. But a moment later she realized that he probably wasn't, as one part of him was most definitely starting to wake up. And this part was currently pressed against her bum.

Hermione swallowed heavily. “George, please, I need the loo," she murmured embarrassedly and tried to wiggle away. It seemed to take a moment for him to get her message, but finally, he let go of her with a sigh and turned to his back. This gave her some more centimetres of space which were enough for her to push herself out of bed on the foot end. "Thanks," Hermione whispered before she padded towards the door on socked feet. Right, yesterday evening she hadn't even bothered to change into her sleepwear but now this gave her the bonus of not having to change right away. Because she really didn’t feel like going through her clothes, especially her underwear, with the twins in her room.

Hermione took her time in the bathroom, but when she hoped that the twins would be gone from her bed when she returned to her room, she was disappointed. Both of them were wide awake though and looked at her with a matching grin while lying on their backs.

“Morning, love,” Fred greeted her with his arms crossed behind his head. “Guess we weren’t snoring too much for your pretty ears then, as we’re still here.” He winked at her.

She shrugged. “To be honest with you: I have no idea. I was pretty much dead to the world.”

Fred grinned. “Sounds good. Do you feel better now? Or do you need another cuddle?” He opened his arms in invitation, but Hermione just stared at him with pink cheeks.

"No, I'm good, thanks," she said with an awkward smile. Merlin, if she allowed herself to rest in their arms again, then she would probably never let go of them again. Because just the thought of it made her heart start beating wildly in her chest.

“Alright,” George said and stretched himself. Then he slipped his bare feet out of the bed and got up. Just now she realized that his red hair was totally tousled by sleep. He looked adorable and Hermione would have loved to just step in front of him and run her fingers through it. She'd probably make his bed-head worse but in her imagination, that willingly supplied her with the fitting images, George didn't care. But real George flicked his wand and his chequered pyjamas transformed into jeans and a green sweater, while his hair straightened itself. “We’ll be going then,” he said and looked at her with a sunny smile. “Fred? You coming?”

“Right behind you, twin ’o mine,” Fred said and swung himself out of Hermione’s bed. But instead of transfiguring his clothes, he stepped next to Hermione, put a hand on her shoulder and said: “Let us know if you want us to stay with you in the evening again. We’re right next door, if you need us, alright?” His brown eyes sought out hers and when she didn’t immediately reply, he leaned down and touched her forehead with his. "No false shyness or anything equally stupid. We're here for you, you hear me?"

She nodded awkwardly. “Alright, thank you. I’ll let you know if I need a Weasley-cuddle again.”

"Perfect," he said and after another moment he finally let go of her. When he and George left her room some moments later, she could still feel his touch on her forehead and she could swear that their scent still lingered in the room. Her heart definitely didn't feel like it would calm down anytime soon. But Hermione didn't care, because her feelings right now were worlds better than the heavy sadness she had felt mere hours ago.

ssssssss

"I loved holding her," George confessed towards his brother an hour later. Both of them had used the first chance to retreat to their favourite place, the roof garden, right after breakfast.

“Me, too,” Fred admitted with a dark chuckle. “And I want to do it again. Merlin, does it make me a bad person to hope that she’ll need us again?”

George didn’t answer and just stared into the distance. “I can’t believe she obliviated her parents. Merlin, she’s the bravest girl I know.”

“And she smells like coconut,” Fred said with a dreamy sigh.

They were interrupted by a snort from behind and when Fred and George hastily turned around they could see Sirius standing in the door with a wide grin on his face. "Coconut, huh?" he said and stalked closer. "Where have the two of you been last night?"

George looked at him with a neutral expression. “In bed, obviously.”

But the black-haired man only snorted in amusement. “That much is obvious. The question is: whose bed?”

Fred’s mouth twitched. Nosy bastard. Didn't the man have anywhere else to be? Well, there probably wasn't that much excitement in Sirius Black's life at the moment and even though Grimmauld Place was a big house it must get small after spending months of time locked inside. "None of your business, mate. We’re gentlemen which means our lips are sealed.”

Sirius Black snorted. “Unfortunately for you I have a very good nose. But as I know for a fact that the two of you haven’t left the house and next to your sister there’s only one other woman your age around…” He looked at them with raised eyebrows.

George groaned inwardly. This really wasn't how he imagined his morning when he came up here with his brother. But apparently, they were in for the next inquisition. "What are you implying, Sirius?"

The man’s lips twitched. “Nothing.”

Fred nodded. “Good. Because we didn’t  _ do _ anything.” 

“But you wish you had,” Sirius said with a knowing grin. “Don’t look at me like that. It’s quite obvious looking at the two of you.”

George stared back at him in shock, but much to his dismay he didn't find the words for denying his feelings. Because Sirius was right. He looked at him with a sigh.

“ ‘S not like we could act on it. We both want her, which leaves us with quite a complicated situation,” Fred said in his stead and turned around to look into the distance again. George followed his example and only a moment later their host stepped between them and did the same.

“Don’t feel like sharing the girl, then?” he asked casually without looking at them. But his words were enough that the twin's heads turned towards him almost immediately, while they gaped at him with an open mouth. The man snorted. "What? You think I haven't done that, sharing a girl? I've done and seen it all guys and as long as it's with a person you like and respect there's nothing against it."

“Seriously?” Fred asked in disbelief. “But… is that even legal?”

Sirius studied them with an inclined head. “Are we talking about a one-time-thing or something more serious?” he asked and looked at them with raised brows. 

Fred and George looked at each other for a moment, before George said: “If you’re implying that we’re just looking for a quick shag, then it’s not just a one-time-thing.”

“Nope,” Fred added with a nod. “I’d shag this girl as often as she’d let me.”

Sirius looked at them with a knowing grin. “Ah. So we’re talking more down the line of your uncles Fabian and Gideon then. They shared a girlfriend as far as I know.”

"They did?" both redheads asked in unison and looked at the man in front of them in disbelief.

“Yeah. I think her name was Jenny, or Jenna, or something like that. Beautiful, blonde bird with large… legs," Sirius said and grinned. "Your mum never told you about her? They were quite close, I think."

George sighed. “Obviously, there’re a lot of things mum didn’t tell us about. She doesn’t talk about her brothers, at all. Which is quite a pity, as they seem to have led an interesting life.”

Their host grinned. “Well, I can’t tell you much about them, as we weren’t close at the time, but there’re lots of interesting books in the Black Library. I didn’t read many of them, as I prefer a more practical approach, but somewhere there’s definitely one about magical twin bonds and another one on bonding rituals in general. Maybe you should take a look.”

“Can’t hurt,” Fred replied with a shrug. “Even though the theoretical possibility still might not help us very much. Because let's be honest: if we suggested it to her, she might simply take us for a bunch of perverts or something."

Sirius snorted. “Who knows? The girl might actually surprise you. She’s a tough one, that much I can tell.”

George nodded in agreement. Yeah, Hermione was tough, much tougher than even Sirius might have realized.

sssssss

Except for mealtimes George didn’t see much of Hermione that day. It wasn’t that he was directly looking for her, but when he entered one of the many rooms of Sirius Black’s house he always hoped to find her. But he never did. It was like the girl was invisible or something, or could disillusion herself. Smart as Hermione was, she probably could, even though the spell was unfortunately not taught at school.

"Do you think she'll need us tonight?" George whispered to his brother when they made their way upstairs after dinner. Usually, they stayed with their family a bit longer, but as they hoped to see a certain witch again soon, they excused themselves and trotted to their shared room.

“Dunno. She looked fine enough during mealtimes, but also she did yesterday. And considering the girl just lost her parents…" Fred frowned. "I think she needs us, no matter if she seeks out our help or not. Sometimes the girl can be as stubborn as hell."

George sighed. “True. But I kind of like that about her, that and her hair.”

"So? What do we do if she doesn't ask us for help after she goes to her room?" Fred asked, but didn't wait for his brother's answer though. "I say we check on her anyway. If she's fine we can still leave, right?"

“Absolutely. But I hope we won’t have to. Because I definitely want to hold her again. Does that make me a bad person, Freddy?”

His brother grinned. “No, just a bed-person. And that’s not a bad thing at all.”

ssssssss

Hermione spent as much time with Harry, the Weasleys and Sirius as possible. She dreaded going back to her room, as it would mean being surrounded by silence again. And that would be the point, when reality caught up with her again, which she wanted to postpone as long as possible. Still, it was like somebody was watching her. Her neck had started to constantly prickle over the day and it was the worst when she was surrounded by the others in the evening. Harry and Ron chatted almost nonstop over some Quidditch strategies which was probably due to the fact that Harry would be allowed to resume his position as Quidditch seeker soon. It wasn't them, Hermione thought, but somebody was watching her. She just didn't know who and why.

“I’m going to bed,” she finally announced when she couldn’t bear the feeling any longer. When she looked at the others all of them just nodded in understanding or wished her good night, but when she looked at Sirius it was like there was a strange flicker in his eyes that she couldn't place. But then the man winked at her and she nodded towards him with an awkward smile, before she left the room. She really needed to stop being this paranoid. He was probably just happy to have some company over the holidays. Or did he know something? No, she had only told the twins what happened to her parents and she trusted them not to tell her secret. So she was probably just seeing ghosts. 

Should she go to the twins and ask them to spend the night with her again? They had offered her some cuddles after all. But should she accept them if she was trying to get over her crush on them? Not that she did a very good job with that anyway. After last night she realized that she wanted them just as much as she had before.

Hermione sighed. She really shouldn't call on them tonight. It would make getting over them so much harder in the future. 

With another sigh, she changed into her pyjamas. But just as she was about to turn off the lights, there was a soft knock at her door. 

"Come in," she said and a moment later two freckled, smiling redheads tiptoed into her room. Both of them were already in their pyjamas too and looked at her with wide eyes and a wide Weasley-twin-grin.

“Thought we’d check on you,” Fred explained and stepped closer. “Just in case you were uncomfortable knocking on our room or something.”

She nodded with a thankful smile. “That’s very thoughtful of you.”

Both of them smiled.

“So?” George finally asked and looked at her with a small smile. “Need a Weasley-cuddle again?”

Hermione sighed. She really shouldn’t, today she was feeling better after all. But god, she wanted to be held by them again. “I errr…. Alright,” she finally said and both of them looked at her with a wide, happy grin.

“Brilliant!” George said and stepped to her bed. There he transfigured her blanket into a huge, fluffy one and held it up for her. "After you," he said with a grin. And Hermione looked at him with a happy smile. She really shouldn't get used to their company too much, she told herself as she slipped below the covers. But then George crawled into bed right after her and pulled her into his arms like it was the most natural thing on earth. 

“That okay?” he asked silently and looked down at her with large, kind eyes.

"Yeah," Hermione admitted with a happy sigh and leaned her head against his chest. That was when she felt the mattress dip, as Fred crawled into bed behind her. It was only a moment before his arms closed around her from behind and he leaned against her. And it felt glorious. “ ‘s nice,” she mumbled just as she saw the lights darken in the room. It was right in time, as she felt her cheeks heat up again. 

"Good, because we intend to come here every night until we have to go back to the castle," George murmured into her hair. "We want to help you through this, Hermione, even if it is just through giving you some comfort while falling asleep. Will you let us do this for you?”

God, yes, she thought before her doubts had time to resurface again. Just this once she wanted to enjoy her life again, consequences be damned. Because who knew how many happy nights and days there were left for any of them. "Alright, yeah," she finally said and immediately she felt two sets of arms tighten around her. And she could have sworn that she felt George smile into her hair, but that was probably just her overactive imagination.


	23. Disappointing you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my lovely readers. Here's another chapter for you. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment on this story. It means the world to me.
> 
> This chapter was betaed by my lovely friend, multilingualism. 

Winter holidays were the best ones in their life, Fred and George decided, even though Hermione probably saw that differently with her parents gone. Their father had survived being attacked by Voldemort's snake and would make a full recovery. And on top of that, they had been able to hold Hermione in their arms for five blissful nights. Five nights of cuddling, secretly smelling her hair and daydreaming about how it would be if they could both have her.

But now it was time to go back to Hogwarts and even though Fred and George usually did not mind going to school, they didn’t feel like going back at all this time. Not only that Umbridge and her Educational Decrees waited for them, but also there were the NEWT exams on the horizon. This meant that they wouldn’t have much time developing more joke products and no chance to spend time with Hermione or even hold her again. And both were things they desperately wanted to do. But first, they'd read through the books Sirius had lent them, because if they were lucky then there really was a way for both of them to have her. If Sirius was to be believed, their uncles had done it and they hadn't been shunned by society. And that fact gave Fred and George hope that there was a solution for their mutual crush on Hermione.

“Lavender is back!” Parvati’s voice pulled them out of their thoughts. They had just entered the common room after arriving from the train station but when their heads snapped up, they could see that a large group of students had gathered in front of a lost-looking Lavender Brown. The girl interestingly didn't seem to enjoy this sudden attention at all, which definitely was a new thing.

“No, I don’t know what happened to me,” she answered somebody’s question in a desperate voice. “And I don’t know anything about being the Open Link. What’s that supposed to be anyway?”

The group of people looked at her with a gasp. But Fred pulled George to a sofa in the back of the room, while he followed the conversation with half an ear. Then he murmured to his brother: "I bet she's been obliviated, by whoever had her, which can only mean that she’s not the Open Link.”

George nodded. “Yeah. But I mean, we're pretty sure who had her, right? So if she's not the Open Link, why's she still alive? Not that I'm complaining, Merlin no, but it just doesn't seem like his style."

"Not really, no," Fred said with a thoughtful expression. "On the other hand she's a Pureblood and he probably doesn't want to step onto their toes. And… think about it, Georgie. If she's not the Open Link, then somebody else is. What would happen, if he had just killed her and then captured the real Open Link? What do you think his chances would have been to convince this other person to work with him?"

His brother hummed thoughtfully. "Good point, Freddie. Whoever it is, does know Lavender, maybe not as a friend but from seeing her in the hallways.”

“Yeah,” Fred said. “The question is: if she's not the Open Link, who is? Dumbledore will be keen on finding him or her now, as he has seen what happens if somebody else finds the Link first."

"Which leaves us with quite an urgent task," George concluded and got up. "Let's go to our dorm, Freddie. You still got the book where you noted all the bets, right? Let's go through it again and note everything important, we can learn from it."

"Good idea, brother," Fred replied and was on his feet a moment later. "Whoever it is, Georgie, we need to save him or her. And that means not only protecting him from You-Know-Who but from our dear High-Inquisitor, too. Because the woman is almost as bad, even if she tries to hide it behind pink bows and huge smiles."

George shuddered. "Yeah, but I somehow get the feeling that she'll show her true nature pretty soon. I wouldn't be surprised if there will be some new Educational Decrees by tomorrow."

“Wanna make a bet how long it will take her to make an Educational Decree that explicitly forbids using our products?" Fred said with a wide grin when they walked up the stairs to their dorm. "People would probably want to have them anyway. Could even be good marketing."

George grinned. “I say two weeks.”

"Then I'll say ten days," his brother answered with a smug smile. "But we'll have to start selling them, soon. What about tomorrow? Let's just finish going through my book tonight and talk to Dumbledore first thing in the morning. And afterwards, we'll reward ourselves by selling some of our stuff. How does that sound, Georgie?"

His twin clapped him onto his back with a wide smile. "Sounds brilliant, Freddy, absolutely brilliant!" Their upcoming NEWTs were promptly forgotten. There were more important things for them to do, after all.

ssssssss

So Lavender was back, Hermione thought when she slowly walked down the corridor after her last lesson on Monday. It had been Emotional and Attachment Education with Professor Umbridge, but somehow the last hours didn't feel like a lesson at all, more like some kind of Inquisition. It was obvious that their High Inquisitor had drawn the conclusion that Lavender Brown was not the Open Link, which only left her more determined to find the wanted person once and for all. But of course, nobody knew anything, well nobody but her and she kept her mouth shut. Which led to a very frustrated and more and more bad-tempered Professor Umbridge. At the end of the lesson, Lavender had left the room in tears and Parvati had stormed out right after her, in the hope to console her friend. Hermione knew that this was only the beginning and suddenly she was glad for her Occlumency lessons with Severus because they didn't only help her to hide her memories, but also to get her feelings under control. Now that everybody was looking for the Open Link again, she couldn’t make any mistakes and so she tried being her usual, over-enthusiastic self. And at least Ron and Harry seemed to be buying it.

“Merlin, Umbridge can be really scary,” Ron mumbled and rubbed his head. “It’s not Lavender’s fault, that she can’t remember anything. Seems like she was obliviated or something.”

“Yeah,” Hermione agreed with a sigh. “Which means that Umbridge won’t get any answers from her. What do you think how long it will take her to realize that? Because then she’ll try to get answers from the other students…”

Harry groaned. “Merlin, I really don’t want to be in the centre of this woman’s attention. I swear, the toad hates me! And I don’t want to know what she’ll try to get her answers from us. Not that we had any, to begin with.”

“Yeah,” Ron said with a snort. "Because obviously, my prediction that it was Lavender was wrong. Do you think I’ll have to pay back Fred and George now?”

Hermione shrugged. “It’s not like you  _ could _ pay them back, anyway. Or do you have any money left?”

“Not really, no,” her friend replied with a shake of his head.

“Well, then they'll just have to give up this nonsense of taking on bets, right? And I mean, who says that the next person claiming to be the Open Link is correct this time? Or if Professor Trelawney makes another prediction?" Hermione couldn't hide the amusement in her voice when she said this and by the snorts of her friends, she could tell that Ron and Harry felt the same. But before any of them could say anything in return, they had reached the Gryffindor Common room. There their attention was immediately pulled to the two redheaded pranksters that stood in the centre surrounded by a big crowd of students.

“Fever Fudge? What’s that for?” a little third-year asked and looked at Fred with wide, excited eyes.

The redhead snorted: “Gives you a fever, obviously. Enough to get you out of class and when you’re back to the common room, you take one of those,” Fred announced and held up a small green toffee. “It’s the antidote. Just take it and you’re right as rain.”

“Brilliant!” Ron exclaimed and worked his way to the front of the crowd. Harry followed him slowly, but Hermione remained at the back of the crowd and watched the twins’ marketing show with growing anger. Because as soon as her eyes fell on the Nosebleed Nougat she knew exactly that this was what they had taken when she helped them to get to the Infirmary a few weeks ago. They had tricked her, had even convinced her to skip class with them. But even worse: she had been worried about them, worried over nothing! Why had she been stupid enough to believe them? Merlin, she really was an idiot!

“Fred, George! Give me some of the Nosebleed Nougat, will you? I’ll use it to get out of Binn’s class tomorrow," Ron announced when he finally reached the front of the queue. 

Fred looked at him with a grin. “Sure, little brother. This will be 2 Sickles, then.”

Ron looked at his brothers with a crooked grin. “Can’t I have one for free? I’m short on money you know? And I’m your brother after all…”

"And we're trying to start a business, little brother. So no free samples for you, I fear," George said and patted his brother's shoulder. "Sorry, Ronnekins.” Ron looked at them with a scowl, turned around and marched back to Hermione.

“I can’t believe it! I’m their brother!” he complained and looked back at his brothers that eagerly pocketed their newly earned money with matching grins on their faces. And Hermione didn't really feel like defending them in front of Ron right now. In fact, she didn't feel like talking about Fred and George at all - or to them.

"I'll be in my room," she replied with a shake of her head. "It's impossible to do my homework here, as long as your brothers use the Common Room as their joke shop. And I really need to finish this essay for Professor Snape.”

Her friend groaned. “Don’t remind me. I was kind of hoping we could do this one together. You could come to our dorm and we could do it on my bed. What do you say?”

Hermione wanted to say no because she was three times faster without having to help him. But Ron was her friend and so saying no was not really an option. She sighed. “Alright. Let’s go then.”

Ron looked at her with a wide grin. “Yeah. Because you don’t look like you’d want to buy something from them.” He motioned with his head towards his brothers.

She shook her head with a snort. “No, skipping class isn’t really for me, I guess.”

Ron nodded with a smile and said: “I guess not, but considering the fact that I’d be lost without you and your notes that’s a good thing.”

ssssssss

Severus knew he was fucked as soon as he felt the Dark Mark on his arm burn. After the return of Lavender Brown to the castle, he had known that the Dark Lord would call him sooner or later, but he'd rather hoped for later. But it wasn't to be.

With a sigh, he donned his heavy Death Eater robe and grabbed the mask that he had hidden away in his wardrobe. It only took him a minute, until he was on his way through the castle towards the Hogwarts gates. The longer he waited the angrier and more impatient the Dark Lord would get. And Severus guessed he was both already, to begin with. Luckily Severus didn't meet anybody on his way to the Apparition point and so it was only a matter of a few minutes until he landed on the cold, dark marble floor of a house that was not Malfoy Manor. And Severus realized that he didn't have an idea where he was at all. By the size of the room he was currently in, the house was huge. There were large windows along the wall to his right side, that were made from glass of different colours. Severus could imagine that they would paint the room in beautiful colours when the sun was shining outside, but as it was dark right now they only reflected the hundreds of candles, that some poor house-elf must have lighted around Lord Voldemort. 

“Ah Severusssss," his Master's voice greeted and even though it sounded almost happy to see him, he knew that it was only a bluff. "I am glad you decided to follow my invitation."

He wanted to snort. As if he ever had the choice to not follow his master’s call. He would have been a dead man if he had decided to do so. Well, he probably still was, if the feeling in his gut was anything to go by.

“My Lord,” he replied and kneeled down with a bowed head. "It is my pleasure to serve, My Lord."

“So you say,” the man in front of him replied and suddenly Severus could detect a strange undertone in it. “And still you haven’t given me any useful information at all, those last days. Why is that, Severus?”

“My Lord? As you have somehow gotten hold of the Brown-girl, I had hoped that you had finally secured the Open Link. But as My Lord didn't call me, I decided to wait for further instructions, as I surmised you wished to persuade the girl alone," Severus tried to explain, but he already knew that it was for nought. The Dark Lord was angry and he was looking for somebody to punish, somebody to vent his anger on. And today this somebody was him. 

“But this girl was a fraud,” his Master hissed and Severus could feel his cold eyes studying him, “which you must know, as I had the grace to send her back.”

“My Lord was very generous,” Severus replied and waited. He didn’t have to wait long.

“So I was told. But I am tired of being disappointed, Severus. So tell me, what news do you have on the Open Link?”

Severus closed his eyes to gather his strength. Because he knew what was coming after he had given his answer: “I have ruled out a majority of the students, my Lord. But there are still about 15 that I am not sure about.”

“15 you say?” Lord Voldemort said and his voice got more and more agitated. “That is not enough, Severus! There needs to be a way to narrow it down further. You disappoint me. You have to try harder, much harder. But it appears you need a bit of convincing to do your very best. So you will learn what it means to disappoint the Dark Lord…”

Severus didn’t reply, as it wouldn’t have changed anything. Instead, he balled his hands and shut his mouth tightly, in the hope to not bite his tongue again. One of his fellow comrades had once managed to almost bite it off under torture and that had been a messy thing to heal.

“Crucio!”

He heard the hissed words, before the curse connected with his chest a moment later. For a few seconds he managed to remain to kneel upright, but then his body sagged to the side and started convulsing. He could only hope that his Master indeed decided to let him live a bit longer because there was still so much he wanted to teach Hermione – his  _ friend _ . Severus had never expected to find a friend again after Lily but somehow he had. And now that his whole body was burning with pain, his mind went out to her and clung to the memory of Hermione’s smile and the feeling of her arms around his body, when she pulled him into a hug. And somehow it made the pain a little more bearable for him.

ssssssss

Hermione knew that something was wrong. She had just started to ready herself for bed when she was suddenly packed by a strange feeling of uneasiness and worry. Without knowing the reason for it, she suddenly felt restless, needed, but that didn't make sense. Who would need her at this time of the day and why would she suddenly be able to feel it?

But then the puzzle pieces clicked together, when she remembered that there was indeed a person, she had a special connection to. Severus, she realized, was connected to her through the link and suddenly she knew that it was him, who needed her. Merlin, what had happened to him that she felt this nagging restlessness and alarm through the bond? Had he been called to You-Know-Who? Probably. Because who else would try to hurt her friend?

But what could she even do? She couldn’t call for help, as he probably wasn’t even at the castle right now. If she went to the Headmaster she would have to admit how she knew that Severus was in trouble, to begin with. And that was something she couldn't do if she wanted to keep her secret.

The uneasy feeling in her stomach got worse and before she realized what she was doing, she threw on her robe again and stormed out of the room.

“I forgot something downstairs,” she hastily explained to her dorm mates, before she closed the door behind her. Severus needed her and so she would be there for him, as soon as he arrived. And until then she could only pray and try to send him strength and energy through their Link.

“ _ Keep him safe _ ,” she begged her magic as she flew down the stairs to the Common Room. It was still packed with people, but they were all too busy to realize that she climbed through the portrait hole after curfew. At least that was what Hermione told herself because there were two sets of brown eyes that followed her with a curious expression. Only a moment later their redheaded owners leapt to their feet with an excited grin on their faces. And with a nod to each other, they followed her silently into the corridors.


	24. Being there for you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Multilingualism worked her magic again and made my mistakes go away! 

Fred was beyond curious. What was Hermione doing out in the corridors at night? Not that he had something against it, Merlin, no! He always found his and George’s nightly strolls through the castle very refreshing. But it just wasn’t Hermione’s style. The girl wasn’t only a Prefect, she was a stickler for rules, at least when Harry and Ron were not there to drag her with them into the trouble. And they were nowhere to be seen.

No, there was only Hermione in front of them in the corridors and she seemed to be in quite a hurry as her robe billowed while she strode off with quick steps.

“We’ll need to hurry, if we don’t want to lose her,” George urged him and Fred agreed. Then their long legs fell into step, as they hastily started to follow their witch. But Hermione suddenly disappeared behind a corner and when Fred and his brother finally reached it and attempted to follow her, the little witch was gone, which was impossible. Ahead of them was only a long, straight corridor and there was nothing there where someone could hide behind, not even a small person like Hermione Granger.

“Where is she?” Fred whispered to his brother and looked around. “There’s no way she’s already down the stairs.”

"No." George agreed. "She's not an athlete. Even we wouldn't have been able to get there this fast. So, where is she?"

“Well, there are only two possibilities,” Fred said with a grin. “Either the girl has suddenly gone invisible or there's a secret passage that we don’t know about.”

George looked at him with excited eyes. “You think there’s another one?”

The other redhead shrugged. "I'm sure there're plenty we do not know about. So why not here? Care to find out, Georgie?”

“Absolutely. There's nothing more exciting than a mystery, after all."

ssssssss

Hermione flew through the corridors with hasty steps. For a while, she was sure that she had been followed, but she hadn't dared to turn around and check. And so she just cast a quick disillusionment spell, after she turned around the next corner and continued to walk as silently as possible. Because no matter how strong her urge was to press herself against the next wall and wait, her urge to help Severus was stronger. Her friend needed her and whatever happened to him, grew worse every second. By now she didn't only feel uneasiness through the bond, she felt positively sick and her limbs started to ache. And she felt more and more tired, like her magic was slowly draining away, which it probably was. That could only mean one thing: Severus needed it, he needed her magic. And that was a bad sign.

Like in trance her feet carried her out of the main gates, towards the Hogwarts apparition point. If Severus was outside of the castle, which he most likely was, then he would come back here. If he ever came back. He had to, Hermione told herself, because the mere thought that he might not, let her heartbeat speed up in a panic. 

When she finally arrived at her destination, she looked around. But Severus was not here. There was only the wide grassland and the dark trees of the forest around her and in her back, there was the dark silhouette of Hogwarts. With its lightened windows it was a breath-taking sight but today Hermione could not enjoy it. All her emotions were clouded by worry for her friend and so she hastily turned back to the apparition point, cast a quick warming charm on her disillusioned body and waited.

The minutes trickled by but it couldn't have been too long until the heard two cracks of apparition and two masked and cloaked figures appeared 300 metres in front of her in the grass. One of them was barely able to stand straight and so the other one had to more or less keep him upright.

The two of them stood there for a long moment, until the second person suddenly stepped away, nodded and apparated away. It was only a moment after when the other one stumbled and fell into the grass. Hermione gasped in shock. She knew without a doubt, that the wounded Death Eater in the grass was Severus, she could feel it was him. And he needed help.

“Severus!” she said loudly and after cancelling the disillusionment spell she stepped closer and kneeled down next to him. "Merlin, what has he done to you?" 

Severus was lying on his side and even though his face was still covered by the unsettling Death Eater mask his black hair was fanned out on the ground. He groaned in pain. “Crucio,” he croaked out and Hermione saw that he tried getting up but only moving his arms wrung another pained moan from his lips.

“Don’t move,” Hermione hastily instructed him and scrambled to her feet. “I’ll levitate you to your chambers. Don’t worry, I’ll disillusion you and myself. Nobody will see. Just try not to pass out. I’ll need the password to get in.”

He grunted something unintelligible as an answer and Hermione just assumed from his tone, that he agreed. And so she simply cast the necessary charms and started moving, because she had the unmistakable feeling that there was no time to lose. With determined steps, she walked back to the castle while she carefully levitated her friend next to her. Luckily no one stumbled across their way and so it was only a matter of some minutes until she closed the door to Severus' quarters behind them.

“I’ll levitate you to the sofa,” she said matter of factly, but when she looked at the now visible form of her friend she saw him shake his head.

“No, bed,” he croaked and motioned his head towards a dark brown door to his left, that Hermione had so far ignored. For a moment she stared at it with wide eyes, before she caught herself again and nodded.

"Alright, to your bed then," she agreed and moved him carefully through the door. Severus' bedroom wasn't at all what she had expected. In stark contrast to the rest of his quarters, it was held in light tones, and even though the walls were the typical dark, Hogwarts-stone walls, they were covered with numerous landscape paintings. But Hermione forced herself to ignore them for now and moved Severus to the huge bed in front of her. It was covered with dark blue blankets and when Hermione carefully pulled them aside to make room for Severus, she was surprised how warm and soft they were.

“There you go,” Hermione said after she had carefully positioned him on the bed. Only then she allowed herself the time to properly look at him. He was white as a sheet and his eyes were blood-shot but apart from the sweaty look of his skin and the tortured look in his eyes there were no actual signs of injury. Hermione didn't know if this was a good or a bad thing. She gnawed on her bottom lip. "Alright, Severus, tell me what to do. Do you need me to get Madam Pomfrey? Or some potions? Please, Severus, I want to help!" 

He looked at her with pain clouded eyes. “Blue potions… bathroom… cupboard behind the mirror…” he croaked before he closed his eyes with a sigh. Hermione sprang into action right away and after some problems finding the right door to the bathroom, she dashed back with two of the ordered vials. She uncorked the first one with shaking hands and held it to his lips. Her friend gulped it down eagerly, without opening his eyes. Hermione held her breath and waited.

“Give me another one,” Severus slurred and looked at her with small eyes. “It will probably knock me out, but don’t worry,” he said and the fact that he could talk full sentences again gave her hope.

"Alright," she agreed, opened the other vial more calmly and held it against his lips. He swallowed the content down with a last thankful look at her before his eyes closed with a soft sigh from his lips. And suddenly he looked peaceful and definitely no longer awake.

Hermione looked at him with a tired sigh. It must be almost midnight now and it would have been the most logical thing for her to finally go back to her dorm. But the idea of having to leave her friend alone didn't only make her feel uneasy but positively sick. Was that the bond? Or would she have felt the same if it was Ron or Harry in his stead? Probably. She’d never have left them alone. Which meant she was staying at his side. Severus would probably scold her for this because she had most definitely classes in the morning. But for once in her life, Hermione didn't care, because there were more important things in life than school. 

ssssssss

After almost two hours of fruitless searching, Fred and George had to accept that there was most likely no secret passage. This lead them to the conclusion that Hermione had disappeared by some other method, which only fascinated them more.

“We knew she was a smart witch,” George murmured as they finally climbed through the portrait hole together. The Common Room that lied behind it was totally empty by now.

“Yeah, which means that she probably disillusioned herself. Do you think she'd be willing to teach us that spell?" Fred asked in a hopeful voice while they walked towards the stairs, that led to the boy’s dorms.

His brother shrugged. “Maybe. We didn't have much of a chance to talk to her now that we're back to the castle. We could ask her when we see her next time."

Fred nodded eagerly. “Would be a good excuse to spend some more time with her. Let's ask her tomorrow. She'll probably have a lie-in though, as she's still not back. Or do you think she sneaked past us and we didn't notice?"

“Who knows?” George replied with a grin. “The girl seems to have a lot of secrets. I mean, we seem to be the only ones she told about her parents. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s not the only thing she’s hiding. Where do you think she went?”

Fred grinned. “Dunno. But I can't wait to find out, because I've got the feeling that it wasn't just the library."

sssssssss

It was hours later when Severus awoke from his potion-induced slumber and even though he could still feel his limbs and head aching, he felt almost content, which was strange when one considered that he had almost died yesterday. Severus was pretty sure that the only thing that saved him from biting the dust was his bond to Hermione because he had clearly felt the magic pulsing through his veins as things had started to get out of hand. Even though his master had originally just planned to punish him, the man had bottled up too much anger inside of him and once he had started to punish Severus, he hadn't been able to stop himself. Luckily Lucius had waited somewhere hidden in the background and he had reminded the Dark Lord, that they probably still needed their spy at Hogwarts. But at that point, Severus would have been long dead or at least no longer sane, if there hadn't been the fact that Hermione Granger had agreed to form a connection to him. He was such a lucky bastard.

When he opened his eyes and blinked the blurriness of sleep away he realized that the girl was still there. He remembered her waiting for him and levitating him into his chambers. Of course, she had felt that he was in danger, as he had felt her magic after all and so it was only natural that his friend came looking for him. Still, the realization that somebody cared enough for him to not only bring him back into the safety of the castle and give him the right potions but to remain at his side all night long made him feel slightly mushy and somehow… happy. The girl really cared about him, not because he was of value for her like he was for Dumbledore. No Severus realized that he must really mean something to her and that made him like the brave little Gryffindor witch even more. Yes, he liked her, he realized, when he looked down on her sleeping form in the chair next to his bed. Her body had sagged forward in sleep so that her head was now bedded on her arms on his mattress and he was pretty sure she'd have an aching back when she woke up in the morning. And waking her to send her back to her room in the middle of the night just felt wrong.

Well, then there was only one way to go, he realized and with a smile he found, that he was still in his clothes from the day before. Thank god the girl hadn't felt the need to change his unconscious body into pyjamas or something equally embarrassing.

His wand was still in its holder that was hidden under his right sleeve. It only took him a moment, to transfigure her chair into a comfortable bed for her and levitate her sleeping body onto the soft mattress. As soon as her head hit the soft pillow, her mouth made a soft, content sigh and a little smile formed on her lips. It gave Severus the feeling that he had done the right thing, even though it meant that he'd sleep side to side with the girl for the rest of the night. Luckily she was Hermione Granger and so there was no danger of her seeing that as something it was not, otherwise, the knowledge of having a teenage girl in his bedroom would have made him more than uncomfortable. But as things were he had no problems closing his eyes again and the knowledge that there was someone at his side who cared for him, made him immediately relax. And so it wasn't a surprise when he fell back asleep only a few moments later.

ssssssss

"Hermione, wake up," a male voice told her silently and a moment later she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder, which made her open her eyes. For a long moment, she didn't know where she was and she looked around in confusion, but then her eyes landed on her Potions Professor and she stared at him with wide eyes. He was back in his teaching robes and it looked like he had been up for a while, because his bed was neatly made and his hair looked like it was still wet from the shower.

“Good morning, Professor,” she mumbled before her brain caught on and remembered that she was supposed to call him by his first name. But somehow she felt the need to assure him that she remembered the first rule he had established between the two of them and so acknowledging his position felt somehow right.

He looked at her with a soft smile. “Good morning, Miss Granger,” he replied with a nod. "You have about half an hour before your first class. As far as I know, it’s potions so it's not too far to your classroom. You know the way to the bathroom. I'll have some breakfast ready for you in the sitting room by the time you're finished."

Hermione looked at him with an open mouth. The man looked totally unfazed by the fact that she’d spent the night at his bedroom. He had even transfigured his chair into a bed for her, she realized, which indicated that he must have been awake during the night. For some reason, she had expected him to make a fuss about it, but Severus didn't. And Hermione was more relieved about it, then she had expected. “Thank you. I’ll only freshen myself up a bit.”

Luckily she was used to hurrying up in the bathroom, as her dorm mates usually spent ages in there and so Hermione usually did quick work in the mornings. It was only seven minutes later when she entered Severus' sitting room with a shy smile on her lips. The man already waited for her on the sofa with a big mug of something in his slim hands.

"I ordered my assigned house-elf to bring your schoolbag so you won't have to run back to your dorm and get it. Don't worry, he will keep his mouth shut.”

Hermione nodded with a thankful smile. "I'd never make it back in time for your lesson, which would have meant that you'd have given me detention." She grinned. "There was a time when this would have meant personal failure to me."

Her friend snorted. "I can imagine. You were quite enthusiastic. I was the same as a boy, only less bossy and way too shy to raise my hand more than any of the others. Slytherin is a complicated house and one had to tread carefully if one didn't want to get hurt. Luckily this was something I already learned as a child."

Hermione looked at him with a sad expression. “I can imagine. How are you feeling today? Are you even able to teach?”

Severus looked at her with a raised brow. “I am not known for being sick,” he said with a neutral expression on his face. “And it’s not the first time I had some unpleasant experiences the night before. Don’t worry about me, Hermione.”

She sighed. “That’s easier said than done. I… can’t help it. Since yesterday night there’s this constant, nagging worry inside me and even though it calmed down a bit, it’s still there. Must be the connection through the Open Link or something.”

The Professor nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense. It'll probably take a while for it to calm down. Maybe I should really give you detention so you can use the evening to convince yourself I'm alright."

Hermione looked at him in surprise. “You wouldn’t. What would you give me detention for anyway? I’m your best student.”

He looked at her with a raised brow. “So? When has that ever deterred me from giving somebody detention? I'm known for being unfair after all.” 


	25. Confusing observations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Multilingualism is a brilliant beta. End of story. ;-)

Severus sent the disillusioned girl out of his office before he left it a few minutes later himself. It wasn't far from his chambers to the classrooms and when he finally arrived, all the students were already waiting in front of the classroom door. By the look of it, Potter and his red-haired sidekick had already missed Hermione as they seemed to be bombarding her with nosy questions, which the girl answered with a good-natured eye-roll. She really had the patience of a saint. If he was in her shoes, he'd long ago suffocated them in their sleep and blamed somebody else. 

“Today we are going to start brewing Veritaserum," he announced after he had positioned himself in front of the class. "Making it is a long process and I am pretty sure most of you won't even be able to produce a proper base for the potion, let alone make a usable end product, as the potion is a difficult one. For many of you, it will probably be the most difficult potion you ever attempt, as I don't see a lot of you continuing for your NEWTs."

Some of those dunderheads were actually stupid enough to nod at this. He snorted inwardly. “I most likely will not have to tell you what Veritaserum is used for, as it is one of the most commonly known potions. Can anyone tell me, how many drops of the potions are needed on an adult for the potion to take effect?"

Most of those idiots just stared back at him like sheep. Only Malfoy and Hermione raised their hands, which made his choice pretty clear. It wasn't like he could ever favour a muggle-born over a Malfoy if he wanted to keep his position as a Death Eater spy. “Mr. Malfoy?”

“The exact dosage depends on the weight of the person. For a man of average build three drops are usually enough,” the boy answered in a self-assured tone.

Severus nodded. “Very good, Mr. Malfoy. Five points to Slytherin,” he said and continued. “Usually more than five drops will be enough for somebody to lose consciousness, seven are enough to kill a person.”

Most of them nodded, but almost no one except Hermione felt the need to take notes, which was typical for this generation’s arrogance. He rolled his eyes.

“Who of you can tell me, if Veritaserum can also be used to interrogate other species like for example Vampires or house-elves?” he continued to ask. The answer to the question was not in the books and so he wasn't surprised that none of them raised their hand. It was the opener he was looking for.

"Well, Miss Granger? As you usually feel the need to share your wisdom with the class, you're welcome to do so now," he said and looked at the little witch with a wolfish grin. The action let him feel a little tug of guilt in his heart, but he hastily pushed it aside. He was on a mission after all.

Hermione looked at him with hard eyes. "I don't know, Sir," she replied politely but he could already see the pink colour of her cheeks. She didn't like it when he made her look silly in front of the class. But he had to keep up his role, after all.

He shook his head with a disappointed sigh. “How disappointing,” he said with a bored tone and turned away from her. Then he flicked his wand and let the instructions for the first part of the potion appear on the board behind him. "Well, I recommend all of you read these instructions very carefully. They are not similar to the instructions in the book so I advise you to take some notes. As your homework, I expect a 10-inch-essay on why I made the changes to the recipe with your guesses on the effect those might have on the potion."

Some of them nodded and Hermione was already scanning the instructions on the board with her eyes.

“After you finish taking your notes, you can begin to brew. Try not to hurt your classmates in the process.” He specifically focussed on Longbottom while saying those words, but he was pretty sure that the oaf would still manage to melt his cauldron today. Severus had just the unmistakable feeling; it was one of these days.

One after another the teenagers began their work and by the time most of them had finished copying his instructions from the board, Hermione and Draco had already arranged all their ingredients on the table and started brewing. Then, ten minutes later everyone was busy enough, that he could continue his mission. Like it was his habit he started strolling through the classroom and when he reached Hermione's table, it was only a little motion with his hand that made the additional ingredient slip into her cauldron. It was just a little wing of a firefly, but the effect was impressive if also totally harmless. Just as Severus had reached the end of the row, there was a huge fountain that arose from her cauldron and sprinkled its contents like a fine mist on every surface and utensil in Hermione's reach as well as the girl herself. The little witch stumbled back from her table with a surprised squeak and looked at the mess with wide, teary eyes. 

“Miss Granger!” he bellowed and strode back to her. Then he built himself up in front of her table and sneered: “What in the name of Merlin have you done, you clumsy chit? It says  _ one _ leaf of the moon thistle, not two!”

The girl stared at him with wide eyes and a trembling bottom lip and his heart gave another warning tug. But he brushed it aside and continued: "One should mean by the number of books you're ingesting you should be able to read such a simple instruction."

At that, something in her expression snapped and suddenly her soft, brown eyes became stormy and defiant. Finally. Merlin, he had given her reason enough to lose her temper. “Well,  _ Professor _ ,” she bit out with clenched teeth, “then you should probably start working on your handwriting, as I am clearly not the only one who has problems making something out of it."

Several students around her gasped in shock and even Weasley looked at her like she had suddenly lost her mind talking to him like that. He could have laughed out aloud because considering that his writing had clearly gotten more and more sloppy over the years, the girl was totally right. But he couldn't very well agree with her in front of their gaping classmates.

He looked at her with a raised brow. “Five points from Gryffindor,” he said calmly and looked at her with cold eyes. “For your disrespect. Now you’ll clean up this mess, by  _ hand _ if you please.”

She looked at him with an angry expression. “And when shall I finish my potion, Sir?”

The corner of his mouth twitched, but he was pretty sure only Hermione was able to see it. "I thought that was fairly obvious, Miss Granger. You'll be in detention with me this evening and every following evening this week. There you'll not only get the chance to finally start your potion, but you'll have numerous chances to learn to decipher my handwriting."

She looked at him with a defiant expression on her face but didn't say a word in return. Instead, she made an angry noise in the back of her throat and stormed to the sink, to grab some cleaning supplies. Severus could hear his Slytherins chuckle in the back of the room, but interestingly Malfoy was not one of them – a fact that he’d analyse later. Because he was pretty sure that his godson would have usually loved this kind of display.

ssssssss

"Merlin, Hermione," Ron said when they finally made up their way into the Great Hall. It was time for lunch now and even though Hermione had been prepared for Severus giving her detention, she still had problems to wrap her head around what happened. "I can't believe you told Snape to work on his handwriting. This was probably the funniest and scariest thing you've ever done."

Hermione looked at him with a raised brow. “You found it  _ funny _ ?” 

Ron snorted. “Yup. I bet it’s the first time someone told him, that his instructions are almost impossible to read.”

Harry hummed in agreeance. “Yeah, though I never expected you’d be the one to do it, Hermione.”

“Do what?” a curious voice asked from behind and a moment later another pair of Weasleys strolled past them and looked at her with a curious expression. It only took Ron a matter of minutes to proudly repeat the story to them. The twins followed his tale with mischievously shining eyes.

“You should have seen it: Hermione telling him off while she was covered in green soot from her cauldron. She looked like a wet, grumpy cat,” Ron finished his story with an amused chuckle. Hermione looked at him with a dark expression.

“You forget to mention the fact that I’m in detention with him for the whole week now,  _ again _ ," she said and sighed dramatically. "Merlin, if the Professor didn't already hate me, I'm pretty sure he does now." It was a big, fat lie, Hermione realized, but somehow she almost enjoyed constructing her tale. Merlin, Severus had really made a skilled liar out of her. But letting everybody think they hated each other would only help to disguise their secret friendship.

Harry snorted. “Well, Snape definitely hates me but there’s only so much he can do. So don’t worry. You already survived two weeks of detention with him so this can’t be worse, huh?” He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close.

Hermione sighed. “No. But I really don’t fancy making the potion while he breathes down my neck. I’ll probably cut my finger off or something.”

The twins looked at her with an amused glint in their eyes. “We could sell you some Puking Pastilles or Nosebleed Nougat if you like. You could try to bleed all over his robes or something,” Fred offered with a snort but Hermione just looked at him with a tired sigh. She really wasn’t in the mood for buying any of their joke products after they had used them to trick her.

“And get another week of detention in return?” she asked and shook her head. “No thanks. I’m in enough trouble as it is.”

Fred and George looked at her with a good-natured chuckle and smiled. "Probably," George said. "When you continue like that you'll get into more detentions than Fred and I this year. And we can't have that, can we?" He winked at her and for a moment the sight of it made her belly flutter. But Hermione squashed the feeling immediately. She was still mad at them and wouldn't fall victim to their charms that easily again.

“No,” she said brusquely and as they had finally reached the Great Hall she sat down at her usual place, surrounded by Harry and Ron. “I don’t want people to get the wrong impression after all.”

For a moment Fred and George studied her with a confused expression on their faces, before the happy smile was back on their faces. All through the meal they tried to involve her into a discussion, but Hermione just wasn’t in the mood. Not only was she still cross with them, but her thoughts drifted back to Severus and she couldn't help but ask herself if he was alright. But she guessed she'd find out in the evening. That long she'd just have to wait and distract herself. 

ssssssss

"Seems like our little chat with Hermione will have to wait until she has worked her way through her detentions," George said with a sigh.

Fred snorted. “The better I get to know her, the more I like her,” he confessed and grinned. “Who would have thought that the bookish Prefect would tell off a teacher, nonetheless Snape. Sometimes I’ve got the feeling we didn’t know her very well at all.”

George nodded. "Yeah, the girl definitely has some secrets but considering that she barely talked to us during lunch I wonder if she'll ever share them with us."

Fred threw himself on his bed and rubbed his head. “Yeah… she seemed somewhat distanced, didn’t she? But it’s not like we’ve  _ done _ something, right?”

His brother shrugged. “Not sure, she’s been kind of strange ever since she saw us selling our Skiving Snack boxes. I reckon she’s probably not very happy about it.”

But Fred looked at him with wide eyes. “Oh shit. She’s found out about the reason for our little trip to the Infirmary,” he said and rubbed his face. “Merlin, of course! The girl is smart and it probably hasn’t taken much for her to count one and one together.”

George looked at him with a sour expression. “Yeah. And if there’s something that can seriously piss Hermione Granger off, then it’s being kept away from class.”

His brother moaned. “Merlin, Georgie, we’re fucked,” he said and George nodded. His brother was right. They’d at least need to apologize to her and then it was still questionable if she'd trust them enough to let them in on another one of her secrets. Because at the moment they probably weren't here favourite persons at all and George had the feeling that it would need more than a little bit of Weasley charm to make her agree to teach them something like the disillusionment charm. Because they had just reminded her of their role as pranksters, which might not have been the cleverest thing to do.

sssssssss

It was again 7 p.m. when Hermione found herself in front of Severus' door. She had chosen to remain in her school robes, to give the whole detention-story a bit more of an official touch, in case she was seen in front of his door. And really, just when she was about to knock, Malfoy strode past her and looked at her with an analysing gaze.

“Granger,” he greeted her in a neutral tone. Hermione already prepared herself for some more insults from him or some sort of attack. But none came. He just nodded towards her and continued to walk down the corridor, like it was the most normal thing for him and Hermione followed his retreating figure with a confused blink. It took her some moments to snap out of her stupor but finally, she shook her head and knocked at her Professor's door. It was only a moment until the man appeared in front of her and as soon as his dark eyes fell on her, he stepped aside without saying a word. Hermione looked at the office behind him with curious eyes. Usually his desk was laden with essays or some other kind of reading material, but today everything was impeccably clean and not a single scroll of parchment was to be seen. Had it been like this in the morning? Hermione couldn't remember.

“What shall I do for my detention, Professor?” she asked him with a slight smile on her lips and she could have sworn that a shimmer of amusement glinted in his eyes.

“I told you, you’d be brewing the basis for Veritaserum, Miss Granger,” he replied with a neutral tone. “We’ll be using my private lab, come on.”

He turned around without another word and Hermione followed him full of excitement. She’d never been to his private lab in real life and just knew the room from his memories. But when they entered it everything was exactly like she remembered.

Severus led her to a large workbench in the middle and Hermione could see that he had already laid out all the ingredients that she would need for making the potion. Hermione stepped closer. She expected that Severus would retreat to another part of the room to let her work alone, but when she looked at him she could see that he had already rolled up his sleeves.

“We’ll be making the potion together?” she asked him in surprise. He looked at her with an amused glint in his eyes.

"Did you expect me to leave you alone with this mess after I ruined your potion? What kind of friend do you think I am?"

Hermione laughed. “A very sneaky one, that much is sure. What did you even do to let my potion go up like this? Because I’m pretty sure I didn’t mess up the moon thistle.”

Severus looked at her with a smug smile. “I put a wing of a firefly into your cauldron, a very fickle ingredient. Quite useful in some potions but most of them just have this sort of reaction.”

“Severus Snape!” Hermione said in a mockingly scandalized tone, with her hands on her hips. “Who would have thought that you’re a secret prankster? I am shocked.”

Her friend chuckled. "Are you now? Well, only because I choose to appear as a humourless bastard doesn't mean that I really am. And now let's get started. I need a cup of tea on my sofa and you look like you could use one yourself."

Hermione chuckled darkly before taking one of the sharp knives he had laid out in front of them. "You have no idea."

They worked in amicable silence and Severus only spoke to her to give her some useful hints or supply her with useful additional information. Hermione found that she enjoyed working with him like that immensely. Brewing with Professor Snape on her side was nothing like she had described to Ron and Harry. Severus didn’t breathe down her neck or question her abilities, he was simply a reliable and knowledgeable assistant at her side that let her take the lead. And so when their potion was finished, Hermione had the feeling to have learned so much more than during a regular potions lesson.

Within an hour they were finally back to the sofa in his sitting room and this time Hermione took the place at his side without hesitation. “How are you feeling?” she asked him and studied him with worried eyes. Now that she had time to look at him properly she could see, that his skin was even whiter than it usually was and even though his lips formed a little smile Severus looked … tired.

“Better than I should, considering the fact that the bastard almost killed me yesterday,” he replied casually and took a sip from the cup of tea that suddenly appeared in front of him on the table. Usually, Severus made their tea himself and the fact that he let a house-elf do it for him today said enough about his actual condition. 

Hermione nodded grimly. “Is there anything I can do?”

At that, he took her hand. “You already did more than you probably know. Without you, Hermione, he would have ended me yesterday. Somehow, your magic protected me from the worst damage. I don’t know how, but I could definitely feel it.”

She nodded nervously. “I tried sending my magic to you and I’m glad it worked. I think that’s what this Open Link is actually meant for. It protects the person that’s important to you.”

Her friend blinked before he studied her with a serious expression. "And somehow I am this person to you." He shook his head in disbelief. "You know, yesterday I realized that I didn't want to die. Before, it never was like this. I was always prepared for things to end one day and usually I was okay with it."

“But now you’re not?” Hermione asked him and searched for his eyes.

“No. I realized that I want to make it through this war and if it’s just to live a normal life afterwards. One where I’m no longer a teacher and you’re no longer my student. I want to help you to find your family and I want to see Potter’s and Weasley’s face when they realize that you’re my friend. I haven’t had a friend since I was a weird, skinny kid and I’m not ready to give this up, just because some crazy maniac plans to rule the world.”

Somehow this little speech wasn’t at all what she had expected from him, but Severus’ words touched her heart and made her want to protect him, so he was able to do what he just told her. Hermione looked at him with moist eyes and before she could think about it twice, she threw her arms around him with a little sob. "Oh, Severus," she said, burying her face in his shoulder. She wanted to tell him that things would be alright in the end but both of them knew that none of them could know that at this point. And so she didn’t say anything and simply held him close. They sat like that for a long while and just as she was about to let go of him, she saw that he looked at her with wide eyes.

"You're doing it again," he said, staring at her in confusion. "You're sending me your magic."

Hermione blinked before she paused and listened inside of her. And really, she could feel a small trickle of magic leave her body, not enough to weaken her, but now that she knew about it, it was definitely noticeable. "I… you’re right. I didn’t even realize I was doing it… shall I stop?”

He slowly shook his head. “No… ‘s a nice feeling actually… and it really helps against the pain. Feels like my body ‘s actually healing itself with your magic, but that can’t be true.”

She looked at him full of excitement. "No? What if it is? You said there's not much known about the Open Link… I mean, how many of us have there ever been? What if this ability just hasn't been documented yet?"

Severus looked at her with his eyes shining in excitement. “Could be possible. But Merlin, if that's true, who knows what else you'd be capable of?"

Hermione lifted her head from his shoulder and looked at him with an excited smile. “Care to find out? After all, we have a whole week of detention ahead of us. Or do you have a better idea how to use it? Scrubbing some cauldrons maybe?”

The man in her arms snorted. “Careful, Miss Granger, or I’ll have to take some more points from Gryffindor for your cheek,” he warned her with a smile on his lips.

Hermione chuckled. “Or you could give me more detention.”

“Cheeky witch,” he replied dryly but the smile on his lips told her that he wasn’t offended at all.

ssssssss


	26. Detention (part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: There's the mentioning of rape in this chapter. If that upsets you, you probably shouldn't read the last scene.
> 
> This chapter was again betaed by my friend Multiligualism. Thank you for that!

It was late when Hermione finally returned to the Gryffindor common room and as her face was weary and tired when she finally passed the portrait hole, Fred and George decided that it was probably not the best moment to convince the witch of their trustworthiness. And so they decided to postpone their campaign to another day when she didn’t look like she’d fall asleep in the middle of a conversation. But considering she had detention for the whole week, they possibly had to be patient again.

“Do you think it’s the best idea to keep selling our Snack boxes?" George asked his brother when they strolled through the corridors the next afternoon. "Maybe we should lie low until Hermione has spoken more than three sentences with us…”

"This is who we are, Georgie, and Hermione knows that," Fred said with furrowed brows. "We have never pretended to be anything less. She knows we love pranking and want to open a joke shop, Georgie. She's even been to our lab, remember? And she still liked us."

His brother hummed in agreeance. "Yeah, she did. Do you think she still does? I mean, considering what Sirius told us, we could both date her, if that's what we want.”

Fred shrugged. “Dunno. But I think at first we need to find an occasion to properly talk to her. And maybe we have a chance to find out then." He looked at his twin with a wide grin. "But that probably won't be before the weekend. So, for now, let's do what we do best. Let's try to sell some more of these Snack boxes. Do you think the other houses would be interested, too?"

George grinned. “Let’s find out, shall we?”

ssssssss

Dolores’ week had just gotten a bit better. Ever since the Brown-girl was back, she had tried to get information from her, but whoever had kidnapped the girl had thoroughly wiped her memories. And so, apart from the fact that Lavender Brown was not the Open Link, Dolores was as wise as she had been before. It was beyond frustrating.

Now, two days after all the students were back at school, she had been at a loss what to do. By taking the stupid chit with her to the Minister, she had played out all her cards and lost. From now on Dumbledore would keep a close eye on her and her doings but that was alright with her because she would be doing the same with him. Luckily her Inquisitorial Squad was more than willing to supply her with useful information, which brought her to the two redheaded troublemakers in front of her desk.

“Hem hem, well, gentlemen,” she said in a sugary sweet voice as she looked at them and the pile of products on the desk in front of her. “How does it come that you are found in possession of such a number of joke products when Educational Decree Nr. 4 clearly forbids the use or ownership of such things?” Dolores asked and studied Fred and George Weasley. Surprisingly the boys didn’t look uncomfortable or even regretful in the least, which only fortified her decision that it was time, to finally get her message across to those pig-headed students. Her rules had to be followed, by all students, even those that usually did not see the need to bow to their teacher’s year-long experience.

“Huh. That’s what Decree Nr. 4 was about?" One of them said and looked at the other one with a shrug. "Sorry, Ma'am, but after a while, I slightly lost the overview. There's so many of them by now, that this one must have slipped our mind."

The other red-head nodded, but she could see in their eyes, that it was a cheeky lie and they knew exactly what they were doing. "Well, Messrs Weasley that is the reason why those rules are placed on the wall, for everybody to see. Students are walking past them every day in the hope that by reading them on a daily basis the rules will finally stick. But obviously, the two of you will need a more permanent reminder."

The boys looked at her with raised brows and Dolores realized that she had confused them. Good. She had hoped that her decision to ban them from Quidditch had taught them, not to cross her, but obviously stricter measures were needed to teach those two that Dolores Umbridge was a woman, whose rules were better obeyed. Luckily she had remembered to bring her Blood Quills for occasions like these. “I think a detention is in order. You’ll be visiting my Office this evening at 7 p.m., and tomorrow and the day after.”

Fred and George Weasley looked at her and nodded. "Yes, Ma'am," they replied lightly and looked at her with an expression which told her that those boys seemed to be proud to have earned themselves detention. Merlin, those two boys were really misled, poor souls if they took pride in things like that. But luckily Dolores Umbridge was well equipped to teach them that breaking rules was a very bad thing. She had the right tools and she had three days to get the message across. When she was finished with them, Fred and George would think twice before they disobeyed her again. And Dolores would enjoy teaching them this lesson.

ssssssss

When Hermione walked into the Common room at half-past six on her way to detention, Fred and George were already waiting for her with a wide grin on their faces.

“Looks like we have the same way this evening, Hermione,” George said with an amused sparkle in his eyes.

Fred nodded. “Yeah, for the next three evenings we are in detention, too.”

Hermione looked at them in surprise. “With Professor Snape?”

The two of them shook their heads with a snort. “God, no. Luckily the guy is no longer our problem,” Fred said and offered her his arm. But Hermione just stared at it for a moment, before she started walking out of the room, without taking it. It was only a moment, before the twins with their long legs were right next to her again.

“No, we’re in detention with Umbridge,” George explained. “Her  _ little helpers _ found us selling our products and she wasn’t very impressed with us.”

“Of course she wasn’t,” Hermione said with a sigh. “The woman has passed 42 Educational Decrees by now. She wants to get control over the school. Hell, she even prohibited singing on the floors. Of course, she wouldn't be impressed if she found out you were selling joke products in school."

The boys shrugged with a grin. "Well taking control over the school isn't going very well for her, is it?" Fred asked and crossed his hands behind his head. "We are talking about students - teenagers. They are not simply giving up singing or snogging, just because this woman has swallowed a stick."

George snorted, but Hermione looked at Fred with furrowed brows. “Aren’t you worried at all?” she asked them in disbelief but the two of them just shook their heads with an amused smile.

“Worried?” George asked with glinting eyes. “About what? Being in detention?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Boys, this woman is dangerous.  _ Please _ be careful.” 

At that, Fred put his arm around her back with an amused smile. “Don’t tell me you’re worried about us, Hermione. That’s actually really sweet.” He looked at her with a smug grin. It was only a moment until George copied his gesture and put his arm around her as well.

“Don’t worry Hermione. Fred and I are used to doing detentions. We’ve done it all, scrubbing cauldrons for Snape, going to the Dark Forest with Hagrid… don’t worry. We’ll be able to take whatever our High Inquisitor is making us do.”

Hermione looked at them with a doubtful expression, but Fred and George didn't look like they were worried in the least. Maybe it was her sixth sense or the Open Link, but something told her that Dolores Umbridge was a dangerous person. She could only hope that Fred and George were right with their conviction that they'd be able to handle her because Hermione had the feeling that they were in for a bad surprise. 

ssssssss

When Severus had given Hermione detention for the whole week, he had already planned to put the time to good use. Not only was he desperate to spend some time with the girl he had barely seen over Christmas, but his near-death experience had also taught him the value of time. Severus didn't know how much time he had left until the Dark Lord would finally finish him off, but he knew that he wanted to spend as much of it with somebody who actually cared about him. But he didn’t intend to drink tea with the girl, no, Severus planned to make himself useful. And if Hermione decided to use the time for exploring the Link between them, then it was completely fine with him. Because no matter if they liked the idea or not, Hermione was probably the only thing that stood between them and Voldemort ruling over wizarding Britain, well she and Harry Potter, but at the moment Severus had no idea how to even save the boy. 

"Come in," he said with played boredom when the girl finally stood in front of his office. Now that the hunt for the Open Link had started anew, they would have to be extra careful not to attract unwanted attention. Hermione followed his invitation with a simple, silent nod and it was only a few moments later when they found themselves on the sofa of his sitting room.

Compared to yesterday, Hermione seemed much more relaxed, which was probably due to the fact that he looked much better today. It was a miracle to him, but the energy that Hermione had gifted him with the day before, had really helped him to heal much faster and better than any potion would have been able to.

“How are you, Severus?” she asked him, while her warm, brown eyes were focused on his face and studied it carefully.

"I'm back to my old, snarky self, don't worry," he replied grinning crookedly. "I don’t know how you did it, but it’s like the whole thing never happened, which should be impossible. The Cruciatus always leaves an invisible mark, no matter what potions you take or spells you use.”

Hermione looked at him in wonder. "That's … Merlin, I'm so glad you're alright." Without hesitation, she took his hands into hers and Severus allowed it with a little smile. “What about… older damage? Do you think I would be able to heal that, too?”

Severus looked at her with a thoughtful expression. “Hard to say. Like every injury, I believe the damage has scarred in some way and once the scar is there, it's hard to get rid of. Scars are a tricky thing.”

Hermione nodded in understanding. "Could I try anyway? I know it sounds stupid, but I want to make you feel better."

The girl was a miracle. How could she have this kind of affection for an old, snarky man like himself? In the past four years, he never had a kind word for her, but to her, this somehow didn't seem important. Hermione had forgiven him his past insults and had befriended him without reservation. It seemed that the girl would do almost anything for her friends and Severus realized that this attitude of self-sacrifice was what made her an Open Link.

“You can try, Hermione,” Severus answered and looked at their entwined hands, “but don’t be disappointed if it doesn’t work. As I said, the damage has most likely already scarred.”

She nodded with a determined expression. “Alright. Okay, let me think. I was able to send you my magic even though you were far away, but yesterday it seemed somehow easier, maybe because I was touching you. Are you alright with me continuing to hold your hand?” She looked at him with a nervous expression.

Severus snorted. “ ‘s not like you asked my permission before and no, I don’t mind. I know you respect the boundaries I have set and that’s everything I care about. I’m not some shy virgin or whatever you think I am.”

The girl blinked at him in confusion with her mouth gaping open and Severus would have loved to know what went through that bushy head of hers. But after a moment she cleared her throat saying: "Yeah, alright. Sorry. I just wanted to make sure."

He waited for her to continue, but her eyes went down to their hands again and she stared at them in awkward silence. It was strange. His words were meant to assure her, but instead, Hermione seemed shy and contemplative. "What is it, Hermione? I can see you're brooding over something. Just spit it out."

For a moment she didn’t react. Then her eyes carefully moved up to his face again, before she slightly shook her head again and said: “No, it’s alright, really. It’s none of my business.”

None of her  _ business _ ? Merlin, what was the girl even talking about? He sighed in exasperation. “Hermione…” he said in a warning tone. “…it’s obvious that there’s something that’s bothering and distracting you. We don’t need any distractions right now, not when we’re playing around with unexplored magic like this. So whatever it is, put it aside or in the name of Salazar talk to me. I’m not going to bite your head off.”

She started to chew on her bottom lip again, which meant she was nervous. He probably wouldn't like what was coming next, but he swore to himself that he would not snap or do anything else to drive the girl away. Severus waited.

Finally, Hermione took a deep breath and said: "Have you ever been in love, Severus?"

He blinked. That wasn’t what he had expected. “Once,” he replied straightforwardly.

Hermione nodded asking in a small voice. "What happened?"

He gave a humourless snort. “She didn’t love me back and married another guy. End of story.”

He expected pity from her, not that he wanted any, but the girl simply nodded and went on: “Do you still love her?”

That one was easy to answer. “I do.” Yeah, he still loved Lily Evans, would probably love her as long as he lived. It was a simple fact, that the woman held his heart, even though she never wanted it and wasn’t even alive any longer.

The girl absorbed his words silently, but the chewing of her bottom lip and her rapidly back and forth flickering eyes told him that this probably wasn’t the end of their conversation. And he was right.

"Was she the person who…" she took a deep breath. "Was she the person you had sex with?" Her cheeks were deep pink by now and if it wasn't his private life she wanted to know about, he would have been amused by it. But hell, the girl was a teenager - a virgin. It was only natural that she was curious.

“No." The answer was simple even though the story behind it was not. Hell, what would the girl say when he told her that he was in love with her best friend's  _ mother _ ? 

“But you’re not a virgin,” Hermione stated calmly and he could almost see her brain-cells working in overdrive. And he was dreading the question that was most likely coming next. “Can I ask how… who… I mean…”

Alright, stay calm, do not snap, he told himself and looked at her with a neutral expression. He’d rather avoid this topic, but he wanted her to trust him and that meant he had to give uncomfortable answers sometimes, right? He sighed. “Do you really want to know, Hermione? Because I will tell you, that you will not like the answer.”

He saw her swallow before she nodded with her eyes full of determination. "You don't have to tell me if it makes you uncomfortable. As I said, it's none of my business."

Severus snorted. "But you still want to know," he stated simply and she nodded. "Alright," he said with a sigh. It took a moment for him to prepare himself for what he was about to say, or better, he prepared himself for her reaction to it. Finally, he said: "Being a Death Eater comes with certain  _ privileges _ and  _ duties, _ ” he started and couldn’t help to sneer the last words. “During the first war it was common practice to have regular celebrations after the raids and the participants were sometimes willing and sometimes they would have surely preferred death.”

Severus could see that she had grasped the meaning of his words because she looked like she was going to be sick. He half expected her to pull her hands out of his grasp, but to his big surprise, she didn't. Instead, it was now that her eyes looked at him, clearly showing her conflicted feelings.

“That is why you are not very fond of touching, is it? For you, it never came with comfort or love… it was always about…"

He nodded reluctantly. Because even though he had never seen it like that she was right. “Sometimes, when the participants were admirers or willing participants, it was about primal desires. But more often sex was used to cause pain to the poor souls, the Dark had gotten hold off. I was never a willing participant, but that doesn’t make me any less guilty.”

For a long moment, her sad brown eyes just stared at him, but suddenly she leaned forward and pulled him into a tight embrace. "I’m so sorry this happened to you,” she mumbled into his chest and he stared at her in confusion. He had just told her that he had participated in rape, even if it was not by his choice, and she said she was sorry for  _ him _ ? That didn’t make sense. Had she probably misunderstood?

"I can’t say I understand your decision as there would have been no way in hell that I would have… I would have rather died. But I understand the urge to survive or to avoid torture, as this is what probably would have happened to you.”

Severus nodded with a closed-off expression on his face. “I know. If I wouldn’t have been a spy for the Order at the time, I would probably have chosen differently. But as things were I thought my value to the Order was greater than the lives and emotional wellbeing of those poor souls. Apart from that: if I had refused another Death Eater would have most willingly taken my place.”

The girl didn’t say anything for a long while and Severus could see her staring at his chest with unseeing eyes. “I wish I could do something to comfort you, but there probably isn't much I can do," the girl said while she clung to him. “I can’t lie to you: I hate that you did these things, it disgusts me more than I can say. But I understand your reasoning, I do. You’re as much of the victim of that man’s sick mind as were those men and women and I want you to know that I do not despise you for what you have done. You’re my friend, Severus, I trust you and even though it’s not my part to do so, I forgive you.”

Severus nodded with a hammering heart. "I… thank you, Hermione." He hadn't even been aware that he needed somebody's forgiveness, but now that he had hers, no matter how much it was worth, he felt his heart grow a bit lighter. Then suddenly he could feel her magic seeping into him again. It felt like a soft tingle on his skin, warm like he was suddenly bathing in sunshine. Then the feeling moved deeper, right towards the centre of his chest where it finally settled. It felt like nothing he had felt before in his life, nothing at all. No power that the Dark Lord had promised and given him in his youth felt like that. Yes, he had felt power back then, too, but it had always felt tainted and  _ wrong _ . The feeling that settled in his chest now was the total opposite. It was, like there was suddenly a pool of light inside him that started radiating through his whole body and it felt like a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders, a weight he hadn't even been aware of carrying. 

"Severus?" he suddenly heard Hermione ask him in a small voice and suddenly he realized that she was no longer holding him. Instead, she sat next to him with huge, worried eyes. "What's wrong, Severus? You're crying. Did I do something wrong?"

He paused. Indeed, there were tears in his eyes. He hadn't even noticed. For the first time in 13 years Severus Snape was crying, but not out of sadness, but out of pure, undamped happiness. "No, there's nothing wrong at all," he said before he pulled the young woman back into his arms and nestled his cheek against her hair. And he didn't plan to let go of her anytime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huh, this last part wasn't planned at all. This emotional scene between Hermione and Snape just sort of … happened. I hope it doesn't feel too romantic because it isn't meant in a romantical way at all. Let me know what you think...


	27. Detention part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, here's another chapter for you. I hope you're all still healthy and in good humour. If not, then I hope this chapter can cheer you up a bit. After this one, it's four more chapters until we're at the end of the first part of the story, which is kind of funny. When I started this whole journey I estimated the first part with about 15 chapters. Yeah, things have gotten a bit out of hand. I hope you don't mind.
> 
> This chapter has been betaed by my writer-friend multilingualism. 

Hermione was right, Fred thought when the bloody quill opened the skin on the back of his hand once more. This woman was evil, not like You-Know-How but in a very subtle and sick way.

When he and George first heard that they were meant to write lines, he had felt like laughing. But already after the first line, he realized that writing the actual line was only a minor part of the punishment. The woman made them hurt themselves, over and over again and with every line, the pain on the back of his hand grew a little worse as the words carved themselves deeper into his flesh. All the while Dolores Umbridge was sitting at her desk, drinking tea and watching them with a delighted glint in her eyes. It was making him sick.

Merlin, how many more times was he supposed to write those fucking words: “I must not buy joke items.” If writing the line over and over again wouldn’t have hurt that much, Fred would have felt like laughing. Because he and George had never actually bought the Skiving Snack boxes and all the other stuff, they had made them. But considering the circumstances, that was a fact, the better kept hidden from the woman that sat across from them in her pink, cushioned chair. Would those words on their hands ever fade? Or would they remain as a scar? If they did, he would wear it with pride, like a token he had earned himself and he was pretty sure George would do the same. And no, they would not buy joke items again, they would make their own ones and they would be gigantic. And right when the words carved themselves into his skin once more Fred decided that he would sell them with a huge discount for anybody who used them on Dolores fucking Umbridge. Because even if the woman was not yet aware of it, she had crossed the wrong people and she'd soon find out.

ssssssss

Hermione felt strange. She wasn’t magically exhausted, which she should have been, considering that she had sent her magical energy to Severus for almost an hour now. The man had been sitting patiently at her side and letting her hold him without seeming uncomfortable or unwelcoming. Instead, his body had relaxed in her arms and his breathing had evened out, while he had buried his face in her shoulder.

Hermione couldn’t forget what he had told her. She couldn’t even imagine how it was to be forced to do these kinds of things against one's will, but she realized that her friend was in pain, even though those events must have happened years in his past. But the memories still hurt him and Hermione wanted to make the pain go away. So that's what she focussed on when she sent her magic to him and considering his emotional reaction it seemed to at least do something.

“I think that’s enough for now,” he finally murmured and let go of her. His eyes were still moist which meant that he had been silently crying on her shoulder the whole time. “I don’t want you to spend all your energy and wear yourself out. We can always continue another day, even though I doubt this will be necessary.”

Hermione blinked at him in surprise. “Does that mean it worked? Are you feeling better?”

The man looked at her with a smile. “I do. I feel worlds better than I did in a very long time and I don’t know how I can ever pay you back.”

She shook her head with a disbelieving smile. “Really, Severus? I thought by now we would be clear, there is no need for payback between the two of us. We’re  _ friends _ , Severus, and friends help each other without expecting anything in return. You helped me so many times already, do you remember? You helped me protect my mind and you even agreed to obliviate my parents. Did you ever expect some sort of payment for that?” 

He looked down into his lap and shook his head. His long hair was covering part of his face like a curtain, so that it was hard for her to see his expression. "No, I didn't." He paused and for a moment he seemed at a loss for words. "It's just, I'm not sure if you realize how  _ special _ it is, what you’ve just done for me. No one and I really mean  _ no one _ could have ever done that sort of thing. This whole Open Link business isn't just about supplying energy like we originally thought. Merlin, this is so much more and I slowly get the feeling we don't even know half of it.”

Hermione nodded. Her friend was probably right and the implications of that excited and scared her at the same time. “Probably. This condition doesn’t seem very well explored or at least documented, which is a good and a bad thing at the same time. We don’t know how it could help us, or maybe also help others, but You-Know-Who and the Ministry don’t know either.”

“And it must stay that way,” Severus urged her and looked up at her with a deadly serious expression. "If the Dark Lord ever learns what you are capable of… I can't even imagine what he would try to do to make you his." Her friend shook his head with a broody expression. "But it probably wouldn't even matter as he is already desperate to find you. If he ever gets you into his fingers, Hermione…" He shook his head with a sigh. “I don’t even want to think about it.”

“Then let’s not think about this now,” Hermione replied with a determined smile. “He doesn’t have me yet and I’ll do everything I can, that he never will. And even if he does, Severus, do you really think he could convince me to join his cause? After everything I know and I had to do, to keep my parents safe?”

Her friend shook his head with a sad smile. “Not right away, no. But the Dark Lord can be very charismatic and persuasive, you have no idea. So please, be careful, Hermione, because I’m pretty sure if he ever captures you, there’s no getting you back, at least not alive.”

Hermione nodded with a solemn expression. "I promise to be careful, Severus. I know what's at stake and I'm not an idiot."

He snorted. “No, you’re not. Thank god for that. I wouldn’t be able to close an eye at night otherwise." With that, he got up from the sofa and looked at her with a raised brow. “Tea?”

She nodded with a happy smile. “Definitely. I feel like I need one before I return to the madness of the Gryffindor common room.”

ssssssss

It was late in the evening when Fred and George finally stumbled back into the common room. George felt dead on his feet, not because he was tired but because the last hours had totally worn him out emotionally. He and his brother were cheerful and optimistic by nature and having to hurt themselves over and over again had cost him every grain of self-control he could muster. And now he just wanted to crawl into bed and fall asleep, so he would no longer feel the permanent throbbing of his hand.

But the portrait hole hadn’t even closed behind him as he already saw Hermione looking into their direction with sharp eyes. She was sitting with Harry and Ron by the window but as soon as her eyes fell on them, she was on her feet and hurried towards them. “Fred, George. Are you alright?” she asked them and looked at them with a worried expression. George shook his head with a tired sigh. “We will be, don’t worry, Hermione, just not tonight.”

But his words were obviously not reassuring her in the least, as she grabbed his hand to pull him closer. The sting he felt at the contact was so bad, that he pulled his hand away with a hiss. She stared at him with wide, concerned eyes. “What has she done to you? Show me,” she demanded in a low voice but the undertone of it made the hairs in his neck stand up. He looked at his brother with an uncertain expression but Fred only shrugged and pulled a face.

George sighed showing her the back of his hand. The writing was still visible in red, angry lines and the skin around the edges was pink and swollen. Hermione took one look at it and gasped. "She carved your hand? How?” She asked in a disbelieving, angry tone while her eyes sparkled with something that caused an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

“Seems like she has a supply of Blood Quills. We had to write lines but instead of ink those things used our blood.”

Hermione looked at his hand unblinkingly for a long moment and George could almost see the wheels in her head turning. He would have loved to know what she was thinking, but it was impossible to tell. "And you have to go back tomorrow?" She finally asked them with calm seriousness. The twins nodded in unison. "And the day after, yeah," Fred agreed with a sigh. "But don't worry Hermione. Georgie and I can deal with it. We'll not break because of some little cuts on our hands.”

She looked at his brother with inquiring eyes. “But they still hurt? Are you in pain?”

George nodded with a grim smile. "I guess they will hurt for quite a while and probably leave a scar, too. But it's alright, Hermione, really."

The girl shook her head with a grim expression. “It’s not. You should go to the hospital wing or Professor McGonagall. I could take you there right now. I’m a Prefect.”

Fred shook his head. "Don't bother. I just want to fall into my bed right now and there probably isn't much she can do anyway. Those cuts are intended to resist healing magic. That's kind of the point, you know? As to McGonagall: I'm pretty sure the Minister gave the toad a carte blanche because all he cares about is capturing the Open Link.”

Hermione sighed. It was obvious that she didn't like this answer and for a moment it looked like she would object. But instead, she hung her shoulders and nodded. "Alright, we're not going to the infirmary tonight. But you're meeting me in your lab, tomorrow after classes are finished. That is not negotiable.”

George blinked at her confusedly. “Uh, alright. Did someone ever tell you, that you can be kind of bossy?”

"Your little brother keeps reminding me of that fact," the girl replied with a snort and a shrug. "I guess as my friends you'll have to learn to live with it. So don't be late, tomorrow."

Fred looked at her with a grin. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

ssssssss

“I need your help,” he heard Hermione’s voice right next to him, even though he was unable to see her. Severus had just finished his morning classes and was about to go back to his rooms when he found her waiting disillusioned in front of his office. The girl had never visited him during the daytime, so he already guessed that there was a reason behind her break of habit, which made him invite her in with a jerk of his head towards his office door. He opened it with a wave of his wand and stepped through without turning around to her again. But when he locked the door some moments later, he could see her appear two steps away to his right.

"What do you need?" he asked while studying her with a concerned expression. She seemed a bit distracted and maybe a tad nervous, which suggested that he wouldn't like what she asked of him. But he guessed it couldn’t be worse than obliviating her parents.

“I need a healing potion or anything that could help against damage done by Blood Quills,” she said and looked at him with pleading eyes. Severus stared back at her with a disbelieving expression.

“Blood Quills? Those things are medieval and out of use for centuries, for good reason, I might add," he patiently explained, but the girl didn't flinch.

“They’re not. Professor Umbridge is using them in detention. She hurt my friends with them and she’ll do so again tonight and tomorrow.”

For a moment he had problems to contemplate what she was saying. Dolores Umbridge was torturing students during detention? If the words had come from another person than Hermione, he probably wouldn’t have believed them. But the girl stood in front of him with wide eyes and a trembling bottom lip, which made it obvious that she was telling the truth. “That’s unexpected…” he replied carefully and looked at her with raised brows. “Have you seen the wounds?”

She nodded with a grim expression. “I have. Can you help?”

He sighed. “Probably. There might be a potion or two that could help your friends. But they are difficult to make and I only have a minimal supply. I will give them to you, but I have two conditions.”

"Anything," Hermione replied with wide, shining eyes. He sighed. He didn't even have to ask for which of her friends she needed the potions. There were only two boys she would get that excited about at the moment, even though she would probably deny it. He sighed. The girl finally needed to learn to get her emotions under control or she would never manage to distance herself from them.

Severus said: “You will tell no one who gave these potions to you, Hermione, not even them.”

She nodded without hesitation. Keeping their association a secret wasn’t anything new to her at all. “Alright and the other condition?”

He smiled crookedly. "We'll use your detention this evening to make new ones. I have the feeling they will be needed within the next few weeks. Because when it is true what you just told me, then our High Inquisitor is just about to get warmed up."

ssssssss

When Hermione arrived in the room behind the three-eyed troll, Fred and George were already there. As the two of them didn't attempt a lot of NEWTs they had a bunch of free time and most of it they seemed to spend in their lab. When she stepped through the door, both of them were busily working on one of their projects and when none of them reacted to the sound of the closing door, she loudly cleared her throat. Both of them immediately paused their work, turning around to her with a welcoming smile. 

"Hello, Hermione," George greeted her with a smile and putting the firecracker he seemed to be working on aside.

"Nice of you to come visiting us again," Fred added, stepping closer to her. He stopped when he was only two steps away and sat down on one of the empty tables in front of her. George chose the place next to his brother and said: “We didn’t really have time to talk since the holidays. How are you feeling, love?”

“Better,” she replied with a small smile. “I still miss my parents terribly, but I no longer feel lonely, if that makes any sense.”

The boys nodded. “Of course it does,” Fred said with a small smile. “I’m glad you’re better.”

“That’s not why I’m here though,” she said and stepped closer. Her eyes involuntarily travelled to their hands, where the marks from their last detention were still clearly visible. “I want to help you, boys. Will you let me?”

For a moment they didn't say anything and to Hermione, it seemed like they were communicating without words. Finally, Fred sighed and said: "You can try, Mione. But there might not be much you can do.”

She looked at them with her chin raised proudly. “Maybe, but maybe not. Some time ago I brewed some potions, just in case things get ugly. As I am Harry's best friend and he constantly gets into trouble it's only a matter of time until I'll need them, but I can make new ones if those work for you." It was a lie of course, but Severus had taught her well and so her eyes didn't even twitch. "They're very effective and should be able to heal your skin. If you would be willing to try them?”

Fred looked at her with his mouth twitching into a smile. “You want us to try an unknown potion? Without being sure if it works?” he asked and looked at her with his brows raised in interest.

Hermione nodded shyly. “Yeah. I know this means a lot of trust from your side, but…”

George snorted. “…’s alright. We’re testing our own stuff all the time. ‘s not a big deal. Just try to get us to the Infirmary in time, if something goes wrong.”

She stared at them with big eyes. “Really? You're agreeing to drink them? Just like that?”

“Just like that,” Fred agreed with a nod and held his palm open. Hermione reached into the pocket of her robe, where she had stored the four vials that Severus had given her. She pulled them out, but only handed the ones with the pink, milky potion over to the twins.

"You'll only need to take a mouthful, which means that you could keep the rest for later if it works," she explained and looked at them with a shy smile. The twins nodded attentively.

“Alright,” Fred finally said and grinned at his brother. “Any last words, Georgie?”

"Nope," George said and raised his vial to Hermione. "Cheers, love," he said and with a last smile towards her, he took a big gulp. Fred followed his example a second later. For a moment they stared at her with a confused expression on her face, but then their eyes widened and they looked at their hands in wonder.

"It's gone," George said tonelessly before he suddenly leapt from his place, stormed towards her and scooped her up into his arms. Hermione squeaked in surprise and looked at him with wide eyes, but he just grinned and twirled her around. "You're brilliant," he said and grinned.

“Not that this comes as a surprise to us,” Fred said and stepped next to him. “We always knew you were.” He winked at her.

Hermione smiled shyly. Her heart was dancing the tango again and the fact that they were so close to her now, didn't help her confused feelings in the least. "Thanks, boys. Would you mind putting me down again, George?"

The redhead grinned. “Actually I would. But I’ve seen you have another potion for us, so I better should, huh?”

She nodded with a small smile. George let her slide down his body until she was standing on the floor in front of him again. Then he looked at her with a raised brow and a wide grin.

“Well, what’s this second potion then?” his brother asked and looked at her with brown, curious eyes.

Hermione nervously rubbed her neck. She replied: “This one’s actually for later. Take it before you go to your detention. It will numb all pain for a few hours, so you hopefully won't feel a thing until you're back to your dorm. If all goes well you're really just writing lines today, boys." She looked at them with a small smile, before she handed over two more vials. Those contained a milky, white potion that had some silvery particles floating around them. "Again a sip should be enough, which means you should have enough for tomorrow, too."

The boys stared at her in wonder. “You’re… that’s…” George mumbled and pocketed his potion with a disbelieving smile.

“…brilliant,” Fred supplied helpfully and slipped his vial into the pocket of his robes. Then he made a step towards her and pulled her into his arms. “ _ You’re _ brilliant, Hermione," he mumbled into her ear. He was so close, that she could feel his breath on her skin which made it break out into goosebumps immediately. She shivered.

“I’m happy to help,” she mumbled sheepishly and Fred let go of her with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Of course you are," he said with a gentle smile before he stroked a strand of her hair behind her ear. Hermione swallowed heavily because for a moment she could have sworn that he would kiss her any second. But nothing happened. Instead, he looked at her with a grin and a twinkle in his eyes, before he pulled back and said: “And we are some lucky bastards to have a friend like you, right, Georgie?”

His brother agreed with a wide smile. “Lucky bastards, indeed.”


	28. The confession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, Multilingualism, for betaing another chapter. 

The girl was a genius, Fred thought as he wrote the first line using Umbridge’s Blood Quill. The red writing appeared on the paper in front of him, as it appeared on the back of his hand, but Fred didn’t feel a thing. But Hogwarts' dear High Inquisitor was watching him with her beady eyes glinting with anticipation and so he tried to not let the smugness show on his face. Instead, he pressed his lips together and hoped that she would interpret it as a gesture of being in pain before he wrote on. And with every finished sentence, his thoughts shifted back to Hermione – kind, brilliant Hermione Granger. God, how much he wanted her to be more than a friend. Why hadn't he found the time going through Sirius' books by now? There had been time after he had finished the analysis of their knowledge on the Open Link for Dumbledore and what had they done with it? They had used it for selling joke items. Not that it wasn’t a good cause too, but right now he wished he had set his priorities differently so that he could just run to Hermione, swoop her into his arms and snog her until she no longer knew her own name. But who said he couldn't? He was pretty hopeful that Hermione still felt the same about him. Fred wasn't an idiot after all and he prided himself to be able to read witches pretty well. And his antennas told him that Hermione was interested in him – in them – and wasn't that incentive enough? He wasn’t sure, but with every new sentence he wrote, the idea of just kissing her seemed more and more tempting. And through their twin bond he sensed that George felt pretty much the same. 

ssssssss

“I love brewing with you,” Hermione confessed after they bottled the last bit of their potion. It had taken them until almost midnight to finish their batch of Severus' healing potion but now they had 13 little phials full of it and Hermione could proudly say that she had learned to brew a new potion – one that couldn’t be found in any book. “Well, at least when we’re alone in your lab. Not so much in class though.”

Severus snorted. “No? Can’t imagine why.”

Hermione giggled. A few weeks ago it would have seemed impossible to her, that Professor Snape would make a joke in her presence. But here they were, giggling together like there weren't almost 20 years between them in age and they had been friends for ages. Sometimes fate took strange paths.

“And you’re sure I can keep two more bottles?” she asked after they finally had calmed down.

Her friend nodded with a smile. “I now have more than enough of them. Well, at least until Umbridge decides to make using Blood Quills her preferred punishment. And I wouldn't put that past her."

“The woman is evil,” Hermione agreed with a serious nod. “Not like  _ him _ , but there's something lurking behind this façade of fluff and pink which makes my skin crawl. She's the last person I would have ever told my secret."

Severus’ mouth twitched. “Yeah, instead you told me. I bet I have much the same effect on most of the other students.” 

“You’re not evil,” Hermione replied with a shake of her head.

“I’m not good either, Hermione,” Severus warned her and sought out her eyes. “Don’t romanticise me as a tragic hero or something. I’m a very selfish man.”

“…that is trying to survive in a very impossible situation,” Hermione added to his words. “No one can fault you for that, least of all me. Before long I’ll be trying to do much of the same thing.” 

Severus nodded with knowing eyes. "That, you will. And it's possible people will hate you for that." 

"Not you," Hermione said with a small smile. “You’ll understand.”

“I will, Hermione because I've done it all." He sent her a humourless grin. "Which is why I was such a lonely bastard before you stumbled into my life.”

sssssssss

It was after midnight when Hermione stumbled back into the common room. She had disillusioned herself for her way back through the castle again, but now that the portrait of the Fat Lady swung in place behind her, she cancelled the spell and prepared herself to finally stumble into her bed. But it wasn't to be, as suddenly two redheads rose from the sofa by the fireplace and looked at her with a wide smile.

Hermione looked at them in surprise. Had they been waiting for her?

“There you are,” George said and in five strides he was right in front of her. “We started wondering if we may have missed you.”

“That sounds like you’ve been waiting up for me,” Hermione said with an uncertain smile. “Which is lovely, but totally unnecessary as Professor Snape only has me brewing potions and scrubbing cauldrons for him.”

They looked at her with shining eyes. Fred said: “We weren’t waiting for you, because we were worried. Georgie and I want to thank you.”

"The potions worked then?" she asked with a happy smile. With a grin, they showed her their hands. The skin there was unblemished and smooth and one wouldn't have been able to tell that some hours ago deep red marks covered it. "We didn't feel a thing," George answered with a smile and his brother, who was standing at his side, nodded.

“Maybe you could show us, how to make those potions? Then we could make some more, for tomorrow, you know? There’s enough of the numbing one, but the healing potion is gone now.” Fred said and looked down at her with a hopeful expression.

Hermione smiled and reached into her robe. For her, it was never a question that she would give Severus' potion to the twins again. "Maybe I can teach you one day. But for now, I have those." She opened her hand and showed the boys the two vials inside. "They're my last ones. So please, try not to get in any more trouble."

For a moment both of them stared at the potions with unblinking eyes, before they silently turned to each other. It was like there was again a silent conversation going on between them because a moment later Fred nodded and turned back to her. With a quick motion, he took the phials out of her hand and handed them over to his twin, before his hands suddenly cupped her cheeks and his lips connected with hers a second later. And then Fred Weasely was kissing her, while his hands held her face and his thumbs caressed her cheeks. His lips were soft and warm and she could feel a bit of stubble on his chin that rasped over her skin. She didn't care though as it felt simply glorious to her. Before she knew what she was doing, she opened her mouth for him with a happy sigh. Fred smiled against her mouth, brushing his tongue against the seam of her lips but pulling back a moment later. Before Hermione could mouth a complaint though, his brother was suddenly in front of her. George looked at her with kind, brown eyes and a happy smile, but she only had a moment to register it, as his lips were on hers a second later. His hands didn't find their way to her cheeks and instead buried themselves into her hair. There his fingers carefully played with her curls, while his lips kissed her mouth over and over again until her lips tingled and were red and swollen. Only then he pulled back and looked at her with a dazed and happy expression.

“Please be our girlfriend, Hermione,” he said and sought out her eyes.

A moment later Fred was right at his side, standing shoulder to shoulder with his brother and continued: “We still want you, Hermione and we realized that we don’t mind sharing you. We just want to be with you and we don’t care how unusual this arrangement might sound to others.”

George nodded. “You’re brilliant and kind and brave and so much more… and I know we agreed to just be friends, but Merlin that’s not what I want. So would you… could you give us a try?”

Hermione stared at them with wide eyes and a heavily beating heart. And just now, when her endorphin-induced daze cleared, she realized what they had just done and what they were asking of her. They wanted her to  _ try _ being with them, to see if it worked but there was no trying for her without the risk of exposure. And then there was the small fact of her needing a permanent linking partner sooner or later,  _ one _ linking partner, not two. Which led her to the same answer she had given them a few weeks ago during their date in Hogsmeade. "I can't," she finally said in a silent voice and closed her eyes, to not see their faces. Because she could only imagine how hurt they would be when she first kissed them back only to reject them a moment later. "I wish I could boys, really, but I can't."

None of them said a word at first and Hermione was just about to ask herself, if they had a silent conversation again, when she suddenly felt a pair of hands on her cheeks again. "You're not making any sense, love," George said and when she finally opened her eyes she saw that he stared at her with confused, sad eyes. "We're not asking for a definite answer or a long-term commitment. We just want to try out if this…" he motioned between the three of them "could work for us. We could even keep it secret for now, if you're afraid the others will judge you."

With his words, he was breaking her heart in tiny little pieces and he didn’t even realize what he was doing. It wasn’t that she didn’t want a long-term commitment, more that she really  _ needed _ one and there wasn't any room for experimenting for her. But how could she ever explain that to them without giving her secret away? It was impossible and totally unfair, for all of them. Because no matter what she said to get out of this impossible situation, she’d hurt them and probably lose them as a consequence. Was that how Severus had become such a grumpy and closed off man? He too had lied to protect his many secrets and keep himself alive and lost all his friends and loved ones as a consequence. And she realized that she'd have to do the same.

Hermione sighed and before she realized what happened, she could feel the first tear escape her eyes. Before she could stop it, it ran down her cheeks where Fred caught it with his thumb and wiped it away. He looked at her with concerned eyes. “What is it, love? Why can’t you be with us?” he asked and touched her forehead with his. “Just tell us. Remember? George and I won’t judge, whatever it is.”

She swallowed heavily and for a moment she considered just pulling away and fleeing to her dorm, but then she realized that she couldn’t do it – any of it. She couldn’t lie to them, couldn’t lose them, even if that meant to go against everything her mind and Severus were telling her.

Hermione closed her eyes with a heavy sigh. She would most likely regret this decision one day, but right now she didn't care. She needed them, if not as lovers then at least as friends. With a quick nod, she came to a decision and pulled out her wand. A quick succession of privacy spells flew from her lips and she could see Fred and George stare at her in surprise and confusion.

“What’s… Hermione… what are you doing?” George asked her and looked around. But when she looked at Fred she could see a flicker of understanding in his eyes. She nodded towards him with a sad smile.

“I need your magical oath that you will not repeat this conversation to anyone,” she said and stared at them with a serious expression.

George blinked at her in surprise. “You need an oath? Why?”

She didn't need to answer, because Fred gripped his brother's arm and said: "She's the Link, Georgie. That's why she needs an oath, isn't that right, love?"

Hermione pressed her lips together, looked at them with a pained expression and nodded. “Yeah, it’s me. I… you can’t tell anyone, please. I need you to swear it.”

Fred nodded with an understanding smile and a moment later George followed his example with a grim expression. “Of course,” he finally said and pulled out his wand.

He and Fred spoke their oaths without hesitation and their words, which they spoke together, bounced back from the wards she had set up around them. Hermione took in and weighed every one of their words and when they were finished, she breathed a sigh of relief. It was probably still a mistake to have them know, but at the same time, it felt good to finally have them on her side.

“So you’re the Open Link,” George repeated and studied her face with a serious expression. “Does anyone except us know?”

Hermione shook her head. She hated lying to them but she could only imagine what Severus would say if she let them in on the other part of her secret. "No. And I don't intend to tell anyone, not even Harry and Ron. And I probably shouldn't have told you either."

Fred sighed. “That’s why you obliviated your parents, isn’t it?” he asked and gently took her hands into his. “Merlin, how long are you already carrying this weight alone?”

“A while,” Hermione replied vaguely and looked at both of them. “Which is fine, really, but I didn’t want to lie to you. I just … couldn’t. But I hope now you’ll understand that there is no try and error for me. I can’t just casually date, let alone  _ two  _ guys. I need to find one person to connect myself to, permanently. And even though I have no idea who that should be or how to go about it without having to fear that I am just dated because of my condition…”

At that, George pulled her into his arms. “Oh Merlin, Hermione… I don’t know what to say, or how to help you.”

She smiled sadly. "That's alright. Just… don't make this situation any more difficult, will you? Being friends is all we can be, no matter how much we wished things could be different. So please, no more kisses that let my knees go weak and make this even more painful than it already is, okay?"

For a moment they looked like they wanted to protest, but after a moment of hesitation, George sighed and nodded. But Fred stepped in front of her with a determined expression on his face. He said: “Alright Hermione, we will talk of this no more just…” with that he pulled her close and into another kiss. This one felt more desperate and messy and it made her heart ache in a very different way than the kisses before. When he pulled away a moment later and stormed out of the room, Hermione realized why: this last kiss was Fred’s goodbye.

“So friends, huh?” George said awkwardly and buried his hands into the pockets of his robes.

Hermione nodded. “Yeah, friends. It’s not what we want, but it’s all we have,” she said with a resigned sigh.

Without hesitation, he pulled her into his arms. "It's alright love, you'll be alright. I'm sure there's a lovely young man out there that just waits to be found by you. And as long as you're still looking for him, Fred and I will protect you. Will you let us do this?”

She looked at him in confusion. “Protect me? How?”

"In any way that is required and if it's just by driving away unwanted suitors, totally unselfishly of course," George said and even though his eyes twinkled Hermione could tell, that he was deadly serious.

sssssss

„It's her, of course, it's her,“ Fred murmured as soon as he and George crawled in bed together. “We’ve been idiots to not realize it sooner.”

George nodded with a dark expression. "Yeah, suddenly everything fits into the picture. I mean, she took on Snape during a Potions lesson and earned herself a week of detention, which is so unlike her. But her feelings must be running wild at the moment which makes it hard for her to control them."

“Yeah,” Fred mumbled and turned to his brother. “Merlin, this sucks. Because there’s no way we could ignore this or discuss it away. She can’t help what she is or what she needs – and that’s not us right now.”

George shook his head with an eye roll. "And that's where you're wrong, Freddy. Of course, she needs us, just not the way we want her to. The girl needs every help she can get if she wants to survive the war. Everyone is out to find her right now and I don't want to know what the toad is planning to do next. How long do you think she will manage on her own?"

“Dunno,” his brother shrugged and George could tell that his twin had problems to get over his wounded feelings. “She did alright so far. And there’s not much we can do for her right now anyway.”

George sighed. "We can be there for her if she needs somebody to talk to. And we can try to protect her when the time comes because when you ask me it's only a matter of weeks or months until shit comes knocking on her door."

Fred buried his face in his hands with a heavy sigh. “Yeah. But still, can you imagine seeing her with somebody else? I just can’t… not when I’m feeling like this, Georgie. Don’t tell me it wouldn’t be the same for you…”

"I'd hate it, this much is sure. But the day will come and then we'll need to be ready. I don't know how we'll manage to do that but going out with someone else probably wouldn't be a bad idea. Not to start something serious, but to finally get our minds off her. We'll have to make the first step to show her we've taken her plea to heart and are giving her some space," George whispered and turned on his back.

His brother snorted in disbelief. “You want us to go on a  _ date _ ? Seriously? Merlin, we just kissed the girl and I’m pretty sure she liked it. I say we lay low for a few weeks and then we can still go on a date if that’s what you want. I for my part don’t feel like dating at the moment.”

George sighed. “Alright. But try to pull yourself together, Freddy. It’s not her fault, you know?”

His brother hummed in agreeance and even though there was still a deep scowl on his face, George could feel that his twin knew he was right. It’d just take him some time to admit it.


	29. Wrong decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys, I hope you all had some good days and are still healthy and in good humour. I am healthy but man, this isolation is starting to get to me. I start asking myself how much longer and it could easily be months. Well, let's get through this together. I appreciate all your comments. They keep cheering me up in these hard times.  
> Special thanks for this chapter go to Stephanie MRV. Thank you for being my sounding board!
> 
> Thank you multilingualism for betaing this chapter!

„You’re an idiot,“ Severus said and looked at the girl with a scowl. “But I think I don’t have to tell you, as you look like you’ve realized that yourself. Merlin, Hermione, how did you find telling Fred and George Weasley would be a good idea?”

She didn't look at him and stared at her toes instead. It was like the Hermione Granger he had known in the last weeks was suddenly gone and what remained was the frightened, over-achieving student that just realized she had made a gigantic mistake. “I… they asked me to be their girlfriend, to just give it a try and see if it works for us," the girl said silently but still refused to look at him. It was kind of annoying because as much as he sometimes enjoyed terrifying students, he didn't want her to cower like that in front of him. 

“Which wasn’t an option,” he calmly stated and saw her nod in return. “Couldn’t you have simply said no? You won’t be the first teenage girl rejecting a suitor, you know?”

He saw her bottom lip disappear between her teeth and his fingers twitched with the urge to finally make her look up to him. But he didn’t.

“I didn’t want to lose them,” Hermione told her feet with a sigh. “Not as friends I mean. I know that I’ll never be able to tell Harry and Ron, but… I can’t do that on my own.”

"You wouldn't have been on your own, Hermione, remember? There was always me, but obviously, that's not enough for you, isn't it?" Somehow the hurt he felt had sneaked into his voice and Hermione must have heard it, as her head finally snapped up and she stared at him with wide eyes. It looked like she wanted to say something, to protest, but not a sound escaped her mouth. He shook his head in disappointment. "I thought you understood that sharing your secret would be dangerous. You  _ told _ me you knew that people would possibly hate you, for what you had to do. But you can't stand to be hated, can't you? You want to be everybody's darling. Well, Miss Granger, let me tell you something: it will break your neck. Trusting the wrong people is what kills you in the end, go and ask Lily and James Potter."

As soon as the words left his mouth he realized that he shouldn’t have said them, even if they were true. He saw the tears well up in her eyes but she also saw her fighting them down again. As if he hadn’t already seen her crying or she him. Weren’t they already closer than that? Had he been so wrong in the assessment of their friends?

“I'm sorry I disappointed you," the girl finally said and looked at him with sad eyes. "But I'm not stupid, you know? I let them make an oath that they won't tell. I trust them, Severus."

It was like he was experiencing déjà vu. He would lose her too, lose his new best friend to a bunch of Gryffindors again because she had fallen in love - because she  _ trusted _ them. How long would it be until he held her cold body in his arms until his heart would break again? Merlin, when would he ever learn?

Still, he had to make Hermione see her mistake because obviously, she hadn't quite understood the danger she had put those two love-struck idiots in. And so he grabbed her by the shoulders, shook her and said: "You got an oath? Well, that makes it all better doesn't it? It's not like they could be placed under the Imperius curse right? It’s not like one would have to watch their twin being beaten, raped and tortured until they told the truth right? It's not like the Dark Lord could capture one of their family members and hurt them, to tell the truth right?" 

She stared back at him with wide, frightened eyes, but Severus had just gotten started with his rant. "How could you possibly be so selfish? You knew this was a burden, to begin with. You said you were willing to make sacrifices to protect yourself and those you love. You had me take away your parents memories for god’s sake! Are they so insignificant to you? Do the people who birthed you, raised you and loved you mean less than those boys? You folded easily to them like some love-struck fool! You made yourself an orphan but refuse to lose their friendship? Do you not see how daft you sound?! You placed all the Weasleys in danger, not just those two.” Hermione was openly crying now and heavy sobs escaped her mouth while she stared at him like she was seeing him for the first time. She didn’t say a word in defence though and he looked at her with a disappointed shake of his head before he continued: “But what really galls me is that you lied to me. You told me you would do your best to keep your secret and then you turn around and spill it for all to hear. I have given you my time, my work and my trust and you threw it all away for a fucking crush!”

Finally, his anger seemed to have somehow vented and he let go of her shoulders to take some steps back. He folded his hands in front of his chest and stared at the girl who cryingly shook her head. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she said, taking a step into his direction but he motioned her with his hand to not come closer. He didn't want her near him now. 

“You should be. But sorry is not enough. The only person you thought about was yourself: you didn’t want to be alone. But I’ll tell you what: let's see how far it will bring you, Miss Granger, shall we? But don’t come running back to me then, because I’ll say: I told you so.”

With that, he turned around. He couldn't look at her any longer. Looking at her hurt his heart and he'd had enough of that pain to last him a lifetime.

“You should go, your detention for the rest of the week is cancelled. I’m busy.”

He heard her gasp behind him, but he didn't care. He also didn't care when he heard her leave his office with a silent sob. At least that's what he told himself when he retreated to his sofa with a glass of fire whiskey. So why did it hurt so much then?

  
  


sssssssss

It was like someone had just turned back the time for her, but only just. Potions classes were as unpleasant as they had been last year as Professor Snape treated her the same as he had back then, if not worse. He hadn't treated her much differently in the last months, but at least then she knew that he didn't mean it. Now she wasn't so sure. Most of the time he simply ignored her now, ignored her raised hand, and simply looked over her like she was not in the classroom. Some days she even wished back his insults as that would have meant at least some reaction by him because as things went she could have simply stayed away from class and she was sure he wouldn't even have complained.

And the worst of it: he had been right with every word. She hadn’t only been selfish to tell the twins her secret, she had also been incredibly foolish, which wasn’t like her at all. Usually, Hermione prided herself with being a logical person being able to make logical decisions even though they might be painful. She had done that and sent her parents away. It had hurt, but Severus and also the twins had been there for her. Why hadn't she been able to make a similar decision with Fred and George? Why had she kissed them, to begin with? Would Severus be right in the end? Would this one emotional decision break her neck in the end and probably his too? Because he was Dumbledore’s Death Eater spy, a spy that was still linked to her no matter how much he probably regretted that connection now. The link held and Hermione clung to it with everything she had. Severus was her friend, even though she might no longer be his. She wanted to know whenever he was in trouble again and she’d be at his side to help him, no matter how hard he tried to push her away.

And then there were the twins, her brilliant, loyal friends. Ever since their fateful meeting in the Common Room they were back to being friends again. None of them ever mentioned to her what happened and even though they did talk to her on a regular basis or made a joke to make her laugh, they mostly kept their distance. Hermione realized that they probably needed time to get over their feelings as much as she did and that was fine with her. Her heart was aching for them and for what could have or better could never have been, so theirs was probably too. They all needed time to heal and so keeping distance was probably really the wisest choice, even though that meant that she was back to spending most of her time with Ron and Harry. It wasn’t a bad thing as both of them were thrilled to have her spend more time with them again. But considering that none of the two was aware of her secret and the people who were keeping their distance right now, Hermione couldn’t help but feel lonely nonetheless.

But it wasn’t just her problems inside of Hogwarts that worried her. The world outside of the school kept moving on without mercy and the next blow for Hermione came, when the Daily Prophet announced a mass breakout in Azkaban, with ten escaped Death Eaters, amongst them Bellatrix Lestrange. For a while, Hermione just stared into the newspaper in disbelief because even though such an event should have been indication enough that Harry was not a liar and You-Know-Who was indeed back, the Ministry kept refusing to acknowledge such a thing. Hermione was speechless but above all, she was worried. Because not only did Lord Voldemort try to find the Open Link, he had just gotten himself an army. 

ssssssss

He was kneeling on the same, cold marble floor as last time, Severus realized, probably on the exact same spot he had been tortured before. The call had come unexpected, just when he was about to crawl on his sofa with a book and a glass of fire whiskey again. It had been his routine for the last few days because even though Severus had never been much of a drinker, he felt like he had earned himself that bit of alcohol-induced relaxation. But not today, as his master seemed to have other plans with him.

“Master,” he greeted the man who was casually lounging on a black obsidian throne in front of him. “How can I be of service?”

“Well Severussss… It’s been days since our last… conversation. Could you find a way to narrow your search for the Open Link further down?”

Severus swallowed. “I could indeed, My Lord. Now there are only seven individuals left on my list but I am unsure how to get more information without seeming overly suspicious to the Headmaster.”

“Then you will be relieved to hear that I will supply you with a fitting occasion for that. Our allies within the Ministry will advise the Minister, that Veritaserum might be a good way of gathering that sort of information. You see, our Dear Cornelius has gotten more and more desperate to finally meet the Open Link. And therefore he might be willing to loosen the regulations concerning the use of Veritaserum on students." The Dark Lord's voice had taken on an almost amused undertone which led Severus to finally look up at the man. And really, Lord Voldemort almost looked smug, well as much as it was possible when one's face resembled that of a gigantic snake.

Severus nodded. “Being able to question the brats under Veritaserum might be exactly what we need, my Lord. But what if I will not be allowed to take part in the questioning?”

“You will,” Lord Voldemort replied in a tone that spoke of certainty. “As the Ministry’s supply on Veritaserum will sadly be found wanting, you'll have to be the one supplying the High Inquisitor with the potion, which will make your presence indispensable, I fear. Of course, the Ministry will be afraid of its lackey to be outnumbered, so Lucius will be suggested to the Minister as a trustworthy ally for the interrogation.”

Severus forced himself to smile amusedly. “Which will come in handy as soon as we’ve found the Open Link. Just a quick Obliviation and she won’t be any wiser.” 

The snake-like man in front of him nodded. “Indeed. And we’ll finally be able to take the next step, once we get that Open Link. See that you stock up your supply on Veritaserum, my loyal servant.”

Severus nodded. “As my Lord commands,” he replied with a deep bow. But inwardly he cursed. It was a good plan, ruthless but it could work, which would make it all the more difficult for him to get out of this mess alive and still protect the girl. Lucius would watch his every step because even if the man was his friend, he was first and foremost a Slytherin who wanted to stand at the winning side, which made him the Dark Lord’s loyal servant in the actual situation.

sssssssss

“You look like you’re going to fall asleep on your porridge,” Ron said, spooning more ham and eggs into his mouth. It had been six weeks now, six incredibly long weeks since Hermione had kissed the twins and things with Severus had fallen to pieces, six weeks of trying to talk to him only to be ignored or sent away. Hermione was tired, not just emotionally but also she could barely sleep at night as she was constantly worried about him needing her help without her being able to feel it. Apart from being discovered as an Open Link, it was her biggest worry these days and it kept her awake until she finally fell into a restless slumber. 

"Hermione?" she heard Harry's voice ask her and her eyes snapped open. Merlin, she had almost fallen asleep in the middle of the breakfast table.

“Sorry, boys I think I’m not feeling very well,” Hermione answered with an apologizing smile. “I think I’m just going to…”

"Hem hem." Hermione didn't get any further, as her words were suddenly interrupted by Dolores Umbridge clearing her throat. When Hermione looked up to her she had risen from the teacher’s table and stared down at them with glinting eyes and a worryingly radiant smile. “Good morning everybody. Unfortunately for everybody, the Open Link has still not been found.” She let her eyes roam through the Great Hall and as her eyes landed on her, Hermione could feel a frightful shiver run down her spine. This was going to get ugly. She just knew it.

"It has been months and the Ministry has come to the conclusion that said person is deliberately hiding in the hope of not being discovered. This is a dangerous decision though as the Ministry is not able to protect the said person, as long as it is not aware of their identity."

Dolores Umbridge studied them with a raised chin like she was waiting for somebody to stand up and confess to being the Open Link. Hermione heard Harry snorting next to her. "Protecting as they had done with Lavender Brown?" he whispered and rolled his eyes. "No thank you." 

Ron sitting across from him nodded. “Yeah. No one would be stupid enough to believe in their promised protection. I don’t understand why he or she hasn’t sought out Dumbledore’s help though.”

Hermione shrugged. She knew the answer of course, but she couldn’t share it with her two friends. Luckily Umbridge felt like she had to continue her little speech and so there was no time for Harry and Ron to wonder about her staying silent on the matter.

"Even if the Open Link might not feel the need right now, the Link must finally be sealed. Only then our world can finally be safe again and return to the normality we all wish for. Therefore the Minister and I have come to the conclusion that it is best if we question all students from 5 th year and above as well as the teachers under Veritaserum.”

Hermione wasn’t the only one who gasped at her words, as many students around her did.

“They can’t do that!” Ron loudly protested and got to his feet, while all around them agitated murmuring erupted on the house tables.

“Veritaserum is a strongly regulated substance,” Professor McGonagall protested and got to her feet. “Wizarding law says that it is only to be used for the interrogation of criminals, not for a systematic questioning of students that mostly aren’t even of age!”

“That is true,” Umbridge admitted with an unsettling smile. “But you will have to agree that this situation is requiring a special course of action, as normal approaches have been fruitless for far too long. Therefore you will find that regular law is no longer applying in this unusual situation.”

Hermione felt like she was going to be sick. How was she supposed to escape a questioning under Veritaserum? Merlin, this was bad. She knew from her recent potions lesson, that the stuff was almost infallible and that there was no antidote to it. So what was she supposed to do? Inevitably her eyes were drawn to Severus, who sat on the teacher's table, his features schooled to a mask of indifference. But just as she was about to look away, his eyes finally focussed on her with his brows raised in challenge. And even if his mouth didn't form the words, Hermione suddenly remembered what he had said to her when she had last spoken to him. Yes, he had been right. Confiding into the twins had been a bad idea. What would happen to them, when they revealed her secret under Veritaserum, even though they had given an oath? Would there be some sort of backlash or magical punishment for them? Merlin, this was bad. How was she supposed to protect them, when she didn't even know how to protect herself? God, she wished she could just run to his office and beg him for help like she had done so many times in the past already. No matter how difficult the problem was, he had always been there for her and found a way to get her through. With him as a friend, she had been given more help than she could have dreamed of only to ruin it with her stupidity and selfishness. Now he would no longer help her, Severus would no longer even talk to her no matter how often she waited after class or came to his office in the evening. It was always the same now. He looked at her with thin lips and a disappointed glint in his eyes before simply turning around without even saying a word to her. And Hermione couldn’t help but realize that she had lost the best friend she could have wished for – probably forever.

Hermione's eyes snapped back to the Gryffindor table and searched for her red-haired friends. They were sitting a bit further down the table and talked to each other in quick, hushed tones. Maybe she could try to obliviate them in the evening? They couldn’t betray a secret they no longer knew.

"Hem hem." Umbridge's throat-clearing brought her back from her thoughts and a moment later Hermione found the students around her fall silent and look at the short woman with wide, frightened eyes. "There is no need for you to panic, dear students. The Ministry will only ask questions concerning the identity of the Open Link, nothing more. You, therefore, don't need to be concerned about your personal secrets, when you are led to the interrogation room later today."

Hermione gasped. They were doing this  _ today _ ? How was she supposed to find a way out of this in a matter of hours? Then she realized that this was probably the point. The Ministry was determined to find the Open Link and Hermione had no way of stopping them, not in a matter of hours. If she could only find a way to talk to Severus… Hermione sighed, because he’d probably just say: “I told you so.”

sssssssss

“What about Nosebleed-Nougat?” Fred said when he and George strolled down the corridor on the way to their first lesson of the day.

His brother shook his head. “We’ve done that once too often already, as have several other students. Umbridge will never buy it, as she has confiscated more than enough of our stuff. She'd probably just call for Madam Pomfrey and get on with the questioning afterwards.”

“Probably,” Fred agreed with a grim expression. “So what else can we do? There has to be something. We can’t just let this happen…”

George sighed. "Apart from running away with Hermione, there isn't much we can do I guess. Even though that would definitely reveal her secret and where would we even go? Not only the Ministry would be looking for us then…”

His brother looked at him with a thoughtful expression and with a grab of his hand, he pulled him into a stop. “That’s actually not such a bad idea, Georgie. How do you feel about ending your Hogwarts career early, brother?”

George looked at his twin with wide eyes. “Early as in today?”

Fred nodded. “If we’re quick we can pack up everything from the lab and our dorm in under an hour. What do you say?”

“They’ll think it’s us and try to hunt us down, Freddy…” George warned his brother with a serious expression.

The older twin nodded. “Then let them try. We have Harry’s money. And we’re brilliant, right? They’ll never find us… well, or at least not for a while.”

George didn't answer right away. Instead, he weighed his head thoughtfully from one side to the other. "Well, we did promise to protect Hermione and if we leave with a big enough show that might be enough for them to cancel their Veritasserum questioning…”

“See?” Fred said with a nervous grin? “It’s brilliant! And let’s be honest with ourselves, it’s the only plan we have and time is kind of running out.”

His brother snorted. “It’s a shitty plan, Fred. But at least we’ll have each other. So you and me, huh?”

Fred clapped his shoulder with a grin. “Yeah Georgie, you and me.”


	30. Hide and seek

Now it was just a matter of a few hours until Dolores would finally know who the Open Link was. That brat had given her a runaround long enough but not any longer. If the Open Link didn’t want to come to her, she would have to apply a bit more force. It was only for their best, after all, even though that stupid teenager would probably not see that right away. But sometimes one had to be forced into one's happiness, right? And it wasn't like she intended to hurt the Open Link, so there was nothing anybody could complain about.   
Lunch in the Great Hall started as a silent affair. Dolores could tell right away, that most teachers were not impressed with her, especially McGonagall. The woman was Dumbledore’s lap-dog or better lap-cat and so it was only natural, that she bristled when her idol's position was threatened by someone cleverer and more determined than him. It wasn’t like Gryffindor’s Head of the House could actually do something as Dolores’ orders came right from the Minister of Magic himself, which meant that the Hogwarts staff had to stand by and watch her victory. First, she had to get through dinner though and some of the students and Professors were staring at her like they were hoping she would choke on a potato. But Dolores endured their sour looks with a victorious little smile before she took a careful sip of pumpkin juice. These interrogations would probably go on for the rest of the day so she better made sure that she was well fed. Who knew when she'd have time for another meal once the Open Link was finally in their possession?  
She had just sliced the first bit of meat and wanted to put it into her mouth when the doors to the Great Hall suddenly banged open, a pair of well-known pranksters flying in on their brooms. With their robes billowing behind them in the air they flew right into the middle of the room, where they stopped grinning down at teachers and students alike.   
“Fred and George Weasley!” Professor McGonagall shrieked to her right and stared at them with wide eyes. But whatever punishment their Head of the House would try to bestow on them, Dolores would claim the right to punish them herself. And she would thoroughly enjoy it. “What do you think you’re doing?” McGonagall went on with her scolding. "You know very well that flying your brooms inside the school is strictly forbidden for students of this school! Have you lost your minds? Come down in this instant!"   
“Well, that’s the thing Professor,” one of them replied grinning down at her. “We’re no longer students of this school.”  
The other one nodded. “We quit. Things around here have gotten quite unpleasant lately…”  
“…and we’re really no fan of taking highly restricted potions against our will. We prefer drinking our own ones.” Watching them talk while they switched back and forth between them made her head spin. It was like watching a tennis match. Nevertheless, the message had immediately sunken in. They didn’t want to drink the Veritasserum - they would leave school in the hope to avoid drinking it, which could only mean that they knew something or one of them was, in fact, the Open Link himself.   
She couldn’t let them escape, Dolores decided, pulling her wand out of the pockets of her pink robe. Luckily there was no way these teenagers could escape a hall full of students and teachers. “Incarcerous,” she whispered and saw the ropes flying from the tip of her wand. It was like the twins had anticipated her move though, as both of them simply moved their brooms aside with a cheeky grin.  
“Thanks for helping us make a point, Professor,” one of them shouted waving down to the students.  
“…and realizing that our future isn’t lying in the academic sector at all. We prefer a more hands-on approach." The other redhead had barely finished the sentence throwing something into the air and a moment later a ray of fireworks exploded with a loud bang. Those weren't regular fireworks though, as several of them finally formed a huge dragon that suddenly rushed down towards her with its mouth wide open. But before the beast could reach her, the Headmaster banned it with an experienced wand-motion.  
“I adjure you not to do anything rash, gentlemen,” he said and looked up at them with blue piercing eyes. “I can assure you, that you are quite safe at this school, whereas the world outside these halls is just waiting for you to make a mistake. You will not be expelled if you agree to come down and accompany me to my office. We can find a way to protect you, both of you if that’s what you wish.”  
For a moment the boy's eyes flickered towards the Headmaster and Dolores could have sworn that they at least considered his offer. "Sorry Headmaster, but that's not going to work. Georgie and I do love our freedom and we're not going to be locked up to stay protected," the feistier one of them replied with a bold grin and threw another bunch of fireworks into the air. This time they formed a huge phoenix-like creature that again swooped down at her. Just when she tried to ban it, as the Headmaster had done it, the creature exploded in a mass of bright dazzling lights only for the room to be engulfed in complete darkness a moment later.   
Umbridge heard someone to her right curse but she didn’t have time to contemplate who it was, as she suddenly felt herself being enclosed by something wet and slimy. Unable to see she leapt from her chair with a disgusted shriek only to feel something cold splash next to her on the floor. "Get me those boys!" she yelled into the darkness and she could hear hasty movements to her left. But when one of the other teachers finally managed to light the room again, those infamous redheads were gone as well as the Headmaster himself.   
“No!” she cried and tried to move towards the doors of the Great Hall. When she tried making the first step she had to realize though, that her feet were firmly stuck on the ground, as there was some sort of green slime surrounding them from her knees downwards. With another shout of anger, she tried banishing the stuff but without success. Every spell that hit the green mass only made it grow and it wasn’t long until she was stuck from her hip downwards. “Arrrgh! Idiots! Help me!" Dolores shouted again but by now the room around her had erupted into chaos. Students were running around, shouting, laughing and the teachers tried to install the order again. No one even looked into her direction, no matter how loud she cried for help. She couldn't believe that the next potential Open Link was just about to slip through her fingers and she could only stand by and watch. 

++++++++

Idiots, Severus thought while storming towards his potions classroom. What did they think they were doing, running away after causing such a ruckus during lunch? It was obvious that they were trying to get away from the questioning, but now not only the Ministry and the Dark Lord would be after them, but Dumbledore was also right on their toes and it would only be a matter of minutes until be brought them back with a grandfatherly twinkle in his eyes. Then he would bring them to his office and wring the truth from their heads. The Headmaster was a skilled Legillimens himself and it wouldn't take him long to find out about the girl, Hermione.   
But the Headmaster getting them into his fingers was still better than the Dark Lord capturing them. He had been merciful with the Brown-girl but with the Weasleys, he would know that their deception had been deliberate and as the Weasleys weren’t particularly popular with the purebloods, there would be nothing to save those boys. Not that he cared about them in particular, no, they were just another bunch of brash, boisterous Gryffindor idiots without an inch of subtlety. But he had been wrong about them, had been convinced they’d betray Hermione and even though their actions could still mean the girl’s downfall they had still tried to protect the girl.  
Well, there was nothing he could do for them now and probably nothing he could do for the girl any longer. But he had to try because the Dark Lord would skin him if we was just sitting here twiddling his thumbs.  
“Today’s lesson is cancelled,” be bellowed towards the little second year students waiting in the hallways for him. The kids looked at him with wide eyes and hastily scurried out of his way when he hurried past them. "Away with you, I've got better things to do today," he sneered and the first brats already hurried away from the classroom. Good. Now he had the rest of the day to search for those hot-headed idiots. He could only hope that he'd be able to find them before the others did because a well-placed Oblivition spell was probably his only way out of this mess. 

++++++++

“I can’t believe it was them all along,” Ron said for the hundredth time this evening, while they were sitting together in the Common Room. “Why wouldn’t they have told us? Or agreed to accept Dumbledore’s help? I’m sure he would have protected them.”  
Hermione knew why. Neither Fred nor George was the Open Link, after all. They just tried to protect her from this mess by focusing all attention on them. It had worked. There’s wasn’t any questioning under Veritasserum today and there would be none until the two of them could be found and questioned. That’s at least would a sour-faced Umbridge had told them during dinner.   
“You heard them,” Hermione replied looking up from her book. “and more importantly, you know your brothers, Ron. Can you imagine them having a permanent bodyguard or being locked up somewhere safe? They would be as bad as Sirius is, locked up in that terrible house.”  
“I know,” Ron replied with a grumble. “But god, I can’t help being worried about them.”  
"Me too," she agreed, putting her arm around him. “They just painted a large target onto their backs, before leaving the security of the castle. Merlin knows where they’re now.”  
But that was the point. Hermione didn’t know and she couldn’t help feeling guilty for what they had to do because she had dragged them with her into this mess. By running away, they had bought her time, yes, but at what price? Would they pay for her security with their lives in the end? Or their sanity? And what would happen to the rest of the Weasley family? Were they now in danger, too? Because she wouldn’t put it behind the Dark Lord or his Death Eaters to get to the twins through their family. That’s why she let her own parents leave the country, after all. If something happened to any of them, Hermione wasn’t sure if she could ever forgive herself. Severus had been right. She had been an idiot for letting them in on her secret. Whatever happened to them, it would be her fault.

++++++++

“Well Severus, by the look on your face you haven’t found them either, have you?” Dumbledore said looking at him with a tired expression on his face.   
The Potions Professor closed the distance to the Headmaster’s desk with three long strides and let himself sink on the cushioned chair in front of it. “No, there’s no sign of them. I asked around with several of my contacts in the shadier parts of London and checked all the Inns that they could have gone to. They’re nowhere.”  
“Molly and Arthur haven’t heard of them either,” the Headmaster added with a grim expression. “I did have some hope concerning the Weasley family clock, as it is enchanted with a powerful tracking charm, but apart from showing them being in mortal peril there’s nothing to gain from it.”  
Severus gave a humourless snort. "Those two are much cleverer than we gave them credit for. They shouldn't even have been able to leave the school. You were right behind them, weren't you?"  
“Unfortunately those two are like devils on a broom and they know the castle probably better than the Marauders have. And even if it pains me to admit it, old friend, we’re all getting older, even I,” the old man behind the desk said and a bit of the twinkle was back in his eyes. He obviously hadn’t given up and Severus realized that as long as the Dark Lord didn’t find them, there was still hope.   
Another snort escaped Severus’ nose. “That, we are. But getting older makes us wise and wisdom is something those two are clearly lacking. Short-sighted idiots.”  
“The short-sightedness of youth is something, we're probably all guilty of, my friends. We've all made our mistakes and paid for them, you did and so did I. Let's just hope those two boys are not paying theirs with their lives. It would be a terrible loss for us, to lose the Open Link."   
Severus sighed. For a moment he had almost thought, that the Headmaster actually cared about the Weasleys. But all that man cared about was the loss of another chess-piece in that game he was playing and wasn’t that a sobering realisation? That man would never care for more than the greater good, whatever that may be in his eyes and Severus couldn’t help but despise the man for it.  
“What will you be doing now, Headmaster?” he asked and looked at the man with a neutral expression. Years of Occlumency practise had luckily taught him how to keep his emotions in check in front of the Headmaster.   
"I'll keep looking for them, of course. Maybe I'll invite young Ronald for tea, or even Miss Granger. They seem to have gotten closer, lately. What do you think?"  
Severus shrugged. “You can try, but don’t get your hopes up. Try Grimmauld Place instead or check with their older brothers. One of them is currently in Romania, I believe. Maybe they decided to pay him a visit."   
"Not a bad idea," Dumbledore replied while thoughtfully stroking his chin. "Leaving the country wasn't something I considered they could have done but you're right of course. In their eyes, it's probably the safest option."  
The Potions Master nodded. He could only hope that the terrible two had indeed been that wise. Because otherwise, it was only a matter of time until they were found. The question was by whom.

++++++++

Hermione couldn’t sleep. Every time she tried she saw Fred’s and George’s face in front of her, but not with a huge smile like she was used to, but with several bruises and lifeless eyes. It would be her fault if they died, she thought over and over again. Only because she didn’t want to lose them she had suddenly decided to spill the beans and in retrospect, she realized how selfish she had been. What had become of her during those last months and weeks? She had been afraid of becoming like Severus, being alone and without friends because she had to push everyone away. But now she realized that it would have never been like this. She would always have had him at her side, but now she not even had that any longer.  
It was no use lying around in her bed and staring at the ceiling like that. Her thoughts were running in circles and somehow she couldn't help but feel trapped in her dorm. She needed out, needed some air and so she decided to do a spontaneous Prefect-round through the castle. A flick of her wand transfigured her pyjamas back into her school robes with an additional jumper below. The castle could be cold at this time of the year, especially at night.  
It wasn’t long until she strolled through the empty halls of the school, leaving the sleeping portrait of the Fat Lady behind her. And really, the bit of exercise helped her to clear her mind and finally take a deep breath. The halls of the castle were empty at this time of the night, Hermione realized, as not even Filch or Miss Norris crossed her path. She just wanted to turn around to return to her rooms, when suddenly a large hand appeared from behind and covered her mouth. Hermione wanted to whip around, but whoever held her in place was stronger and held her firmly in place. She cursed inwardly.   
“Stop struggling Hermione,” an urgent voice whispered into her ear. “It’s us, Fred and George.”   
And it was true. Hermione would have known that voice anywhere.  
"Fred? George?" she asked them after turning around with wide eyes. And really, here they were, standing in front of her with a nervous grin and a twinkle in their brown eyes.  
“In person,” they said in unison and nodded.   
“Come to the lab with us,” George continued. “It’s too dangerous for us, out here in the corridors.”   
Hermione looked at them with wide eyes and a searing hart, as the pictures of their mangled bodies reappeared before her inner eye. “You can’t just come to the castle, boys. It’s too dangerous for you here now. Please, just go and be safe. I’ve brought you into enough trouble as it is.”  
Fred and George looked at her with a smile, while shaking their heads in unison. “Don’t worry about it.”  
Then George stepped closer and tried to take her hand, but Hermione hastily took a step back. He said: “Please, Hermione. Come to the lab with us and we’ll tell you everything, we swear.”  
She sighed, but finally she gave in and nodded with a serious expression. “Alright. I’ll come with you. But I swear, this story better be a good one as coming here was so dangerous.”   
Fred sent her a boyish grin. “Don’t worry, love. We’ve got everything under control.” Hermione sighed. She could only hope that he was right in that estimation, but after the lesson she had painfully learned during her own mistakes, his words only sounded to her like Gryffindor-recklessness.   
It was a short way into their lab and Hermione would probably have found it in her sleep. Ever since the twins had shown her the place, Hermione had seen the statue of the three-eyed troll with different eyes as she now knew what was hidden behind. But the twin's lab had changed since her last visit a few weeks ago, as it now held two makeshift beds and two suitcases in addition to their equipment. Hermione stared at the stuff with wide eyes.  
“Don’t tell me you’re staying here,” she said even though the answer was fairly obvious.   
The boys shrugged grinningly. “Hogwarts is the safest place in wizarding Britain,” George said and slowly sat down on his bed.   
"And it's the last place they'll be looking for us after they saw us fly out of the castle," Fred finished for him with a smirk.  
Hermione shook her head in disbelief. This is a bad idea, in so many ways.   
“So you flew out, just to sneak back in? You used a secret passage, didn’t you?” They nodded with a proud grin. She sighed. Even though it kind of made sense, she still couldn’t quite wrap her head around it. “But you said you didn’t want to be locked up. You'll have to hold out in that room for the whole day. What if you need the bathroom? And where do you get something to eat? Don't tell me you want me to steal something from the Great Hall, because I can tell you: somebody will notice."  
“Don’t worry about the food,” George said motioning his head to a large pile of food on one of the tables. “We prepacked enough to bring us through the next days. After that we’ll think of something.”  
Hermione could only shake her head about their carelessness. She couldn’t help the feeling, that to them this was just a long game of hide and seek. Didn’t they see what was at stake?

Fred looked at her with a nervous smile, when there was no answer from her. “And about the other thing: we know that you can disillusion yourself. Maybe you could teach us, considering the circumstances.”  
After everything they had done for her, Hermione had to take care of them. Being able to disillusion themselves was probably really an important tool to keep them safe. It was in her best interest for those two not to get caught, after all. But then she remembered all the trouble those two had gotten themselves into in the last years and their little stunt with the nosebleed nougat hadn’t really helped to make her see their maturity. She sighed. " I'll teach you. But you still need to be careful. You only leave the room when it is absolutely necessary and never during break-time or whenever there’s lots of students in the corridors. You can’t get caught under no circumstances, do you hear me? This is not some sort of game.”   
“We promise we’ll be careful,” Fred replied looking at her with serious, brown eyes. “We know what’s at stake. And you need us to keep an eye on you, right?” He winked at her.  
George nodded. “If you need help, you know where to find us, alright?”  
“Alright,” Hermione agreed with a tired shake of her head. “Now, before I teach you this spell, there’s probably something else I can do for you. Dobby?”  
It was only a moment until the batty-eared house-elf appeared in front of them. “Harry Potter’s friend called for Dobby, Miss?”  
Hermione looked at the elf with a gentle smile on her lips. “I did. Dobby, these are Fred and George. They are very good friends of Harry too, you see?”   
Dobby nodded. “Dobby is pleased to meet you, Messrs Weasley.”  
The twins looked at him with a wide smile. “The pleasure is all ours.”  
The house-elf looked at them with wide eyes. It was still alien to him, that wizards treated him with kindness. Hermione sighed. Maybe he and the twins would be good for each other because if the little elf agreed to help them, they'd be seeing quite a lot of each other.


	31. Consequences

Life seemed to somehow slow down for Hermione. After nearly being discovered by Umbridge and the ministry and after the twin’s last-minute intervention the following weeks felt somehow... boring, but in a very good way. Umbridge’s lessons were cancelled immediately after Fred and George were seen leaving the castle and after the High Inquisitor had finally managed to free herself from whatever Fred and George had thrown at her, she was no longer to be seen at Hogwarts coming the next day. If the twins had still been around that fact alone would have made them the new Hogwarts heroes, because apparently, no one could stand the chubby, smiling School Counsellor. Apart from that, no one complained about another free period during the week, not even Hermione. Umbridge's lessons at emotional and attachment study at been a hoax, to begin with, and she had the feeling that by now she knew more about her condition, that anyone from the Ministry would ever be able or at least willing to teach her. Apart from that, the OWLs were getting closer and closer after all and so she was happy to squeeze as much studying time into her daily routine as possible.

“Gah!” A cry from Harry pulled her out of her thoughts. They had just settled down in the common room after finishing dinner and Hermione was about to get out the new notebook she had prepared for revising Transfiguration when her friend suddenly toppled over and held his forehead. Hermione and Ron stared at each other with wide eyes. 

“Harry, mate! What’s wrong?” Ron asked in a slightly panicked voice and crouched next to the other boy on the floor. But Harry didn’t seem to hear him and instead held his head while whimpering silently on the floor. Luckily the fit only lasted for half a minute as Harry opened his eyes, just when Hermione was about to run to Professor McGonagall’s office. 

“Merlin Harry, you scared the shit out of us,” Ron mumbled wide-eyed and offered his best friend a hand to help him up. But Harry quickly pulled himself up with a grunt, looking at his two best friends with a scared expression. 

"Voldemort's got Sirius," he whispered urgently. "I've seen it. They're somewhere in the Ministry, I think in the Department of Mysteries and… and he's torturing him.” 

Hermione looked at her friend with a confused blink. “Are you sure, Harry? I mean, it’s not that late in the evening… somebody would have surely noticed, right?”

Ron weighed his head and looked back and forth between the two like he was torn what to think. Harry stared at him with a desperate expression. "Please, I know what I've seen. It's like it was with your dad, Ron. We need to go, we need to help him before it's too late." 

She sighed. “Alright. Let’s go to Professor McGonagall, then. She’s a member of the Order and you said she also helped you the last time, right?”

The boys nodded enthusiastically. “Right,” Ron said and leapt to his feet. “Let’s go then. We better not lose any time.” 

Hermione agreed. She hadn't been there when Harry's first vision happened, but when Sirius was really in danger they needed to hurry. Professor McGonagall would surely know what to do and luckily her office was not far so that they reached it only a minute later. But when they knocked, they found the door closed.

"Where could she be?" Hermione asked and looked down the hallway with wide eyes. "She's been at dinner, so she can't be out of the castle. Should I look for her? Or should we go to the Headmaster instead?"

Harry shook his head in agitation. “There’s no time, Hermione. The castle is huge and McGonagall could be anywhere. And Dumbledore’s not even at Hogwarts right now. He hasn’t been there during dinner, like most days, since the twins disappeared. Bet, he’s still looking for them.”

She cursed. “But there needs to be something we could do.”

“We can go to the Ministry ourselves and check,” her black-haired friend replied deadly serious. "I mean, the only other person from the Order is Snape and it's not like we could ask him for help. And even if we did, until we're down at the dungeons and convinced him that I'm telling the truth, Sirius is probably dead or has lost his mind. We need to go and help him now.” 

“He’s right Mione,” Ron replied with a shrug. “ ‘s not like Sirius could withstand the Cruciatus very long, without being hurt permanently. If we want to help him we’ll need to be fast.”

Hermione sighed. This whole situation was a mess. They couldn't just storm into the Ministry on their own and take on Voldemort themselves. They were just a bunch of fifth-graders for god's sake. "Alright," she said taking a deep breath. "We'll go. This is probably breaking a hundred school rules, but taking the Floo should be the safest and fastest option.”

Ron nodded. “Yeah, right. The fireplace in the Common Room isn’t connected to the network though. Only the Heads of the Houses and the Headmaster do have their fireplaces connected to it.”

The three of them stared at each other before their eyes shifted to McGonagall's closed office door. Hermione sighed. “Well, if we’re already breaking about a hundred rules, one more doesn’t matter, I guess.”

The boys nodded. “Probably not.” 

Before Hermione could say another word, Harry had already cast the unlocking spell. Hermione was surprised it actually worked, as Severus would have had several other wards in place. But the man was the most careful person Hermione knew and it was probably born through his position as Dumbledore’s Death Eater spy, even though the man’s dark past surely also played a role. Hermione sighed. Thinking about Severus and the silence from him still hurt and it didn't help that Hermione understood why he was keeping his distance from her. She had made a mistake and the twins had almost paid for her stupidity. But was that reason enough to suddenly cut all ties with her? Had she hurt him that badly that he could not forgive her?

"Wait," Hermione called out when she saw the boys rush to the fireplace. She had been rash a few weeks ago, but she wouldn't make the same mistake twice. Severus had drilled that into her a few weeks ago. "Harry, please. Just make a quick floo-call to Grimmauld Place to see, if Sirius is really not there. If he isn’t, I swear I’ll come with you and help you find him. But we need to make sure this isn’t just some sort of trap, okay?”

At first, Hermione thought Harry would refuse, but after a minute of hesitation, he agreed with a sigh. Hermione let him make the floo-call on his own, as her head was already starting to formulate a plan. No matter how they put it, it would be suicide to take on the Dark Lord on their own. Harry had done it in the past and survived, yes, but there was too much at stake to gamble with their lives, not even for Sirius.

When Harry pulled his head out of the flames a minute later, he looked at her with an ashen face. “He’s not there,” he said with a dark expression and a note of impatience in his voice. “There was only Kreacher and he said, Sirius has gone out hours ago.”

Ron cursed and said: “Alright, let’s go then.” He just wanted to step into the flames, when Hermione held him back once more. 

“Just a moment. We can’t go there alone, boys. It would be suicide,” she urged them and conjured a quill and a bit of paper. She used it to hastily write a note. She folded it, got up and called: “Dobby!”

The little elf appeared in front of them with wide eyes. “Miss Hermione called Dobby?”

Hermione nodded, while she saw Harry and Ron look at the elf with wide eyes. "Dobby, please go and get our friends. Tell them it'ss an emergency and they're to bring their wands. Afterwards, go and give this to Professor Snape. Tell him it's urgent. Make him read the message, no matter what it takes. Can you do this Dobby?”

The little elf nodded with flopping ears. "Dobby will do as Miss Hermione asks," he said and disappeared with a silent plop. The boys shook their heads in confusion.

“Who did you just call for?” Ron asked her with his forehead in wrinkles. “Who would be mad enough to break into the Ministry with us?” 

But Hermione didn’t even have time for an answer, as Dobby appeared with Fred and George in tow only a moment later. “Hermione? What’s wrong?”

Fred asked her and stared at the three of them and McGonagall’s office with concern. Ron gaped at him in speechless silence. 

“Voldemort ‘s got Sirius,” Harry hastily explained totally unfazed by the sudden appearance of the lost twins. “He’s torturing them and we’re going to safe him. Will you help us?”

Fred and George looked at each other before they turned back to the three of them. "You want to break into the Ministry? Though McGonagall's Floo?”

The three of them nodded. 

“Brilliant!” the twins chorused and looked at them with an excited smile. “Lead the way then. We’re right behind you.” 

++++++++

There was never a question if Fred and George would follow Hermione and the others into the Ministry. They weren’t totally sure what went wrong and how those three knew about Sirius being tortured, but they trusted Hermione’s judgement and apart from that Harry had saved their father some weeks ago and it probably had been an equally chaotic situation. 

When they reached the entrance hall of the Ministry, the place was totally empty. Most of the Ministry workers had probably gone home already but considering that Sirius was being tortured somewhere deeper in the Ministry without anyone noticing, they weren't surprised.

“Alright. Where do we go?” George asked and pulled out his wand. 

“Department of Mysteries,” Harry replied hastily, already turning into the direction of the elevators. The four friends followed him with a determined nod. But as soon as the doors of the elevator closed behind them Fred said: "Alright Harry, here's the point. If Sirius is being tortured by You-Know-Who, then he's probably expecting company sooner or later. Maybe it's even a trap. That's why I'm voting for some sort of stealth. I say we disillusion ourselves before we go any further."

Hermione nodded with a determined expression. “Good idea,” she agreed and already cast the charm on herself. Their little brother looked at her with wide eyes. “Bloody hell Mione, is there any spell you’re not able to cast?” he asked and even though Fred could not see her face, he thought that she was probably rolling her eyes. 

“There’s a lot of spells I’m unable to cast, Ronald,” she replied evenly before murmuring the spell once more and casting it on Harry. The twins smirked and cast the disillusionment on themselves.

“Bloody hell, you learned the spell, too?” Their little brother asked once more staring into the now seemingly empty elevator. “This is bloody advanced magic. Don’t tell me Hermione taught you.”

Fred grinned, even though Ron would not be able to see. “Alright, then we’re not telling you that Hermione taught us. Feeling better now?”

George snorted next to him before he recast the spell on Ron. It was right in time, as the elevator came to a halt a moment later and a pleasant female voice announced their arrival in the Department of Mysteries. Fred took a deep breath. "Alright, guys. This is probably going to get ugly. We'll take each other's hands, so we're not losing each other. Harry, you're taking the lead."

"Alright," their black-haired friend agreed before they patted the air in the hope to find each other's hands. It wasn't easy and going by Hermione's squeak to his right somebody had just found a body part, he'd better left alone.

“Sorry Mione," he heard his brother's hasty apology and rolled his eyes. Of course, it had been him who got lucky, Fred thought.

“Alright, everybody got at least one partner now?” George asked somewhere in front of him and a murmur of agreeance followed. “Good. Harry? Off you go.”

George felt a tug on his arm and followed the others out of the elevator. Their way through the Department would make a good story, if they ever got the chance to retell it: a room full of spinning doors, one full of brains that were held in different containers, a room containing a spooky veil, one holding a vast collection of time-turners and lastly the Room of Prophecies – their destination. But that's where things went south because Sirius Black was not there. Instead, a whole bunch of Death Eaters seemed to patrol the halls and seemingly waiting for them.

“It’s a trap,” Fred whispered urgently and pulled his group of friends into a deserted hallway. “We need to get out.”

But it was too late. The large double-winged doors of the room suddenly banged shut and another group of Death Eaters appeared in the hallways. "They're heeeeeeere," a female voice singsonged and moved into their direction with swaying hips. “I can smell your fear, sneaky little rats.” Fred stared at the scene with his heart heavily beating in his ribcage. That was bad, really bad, as he and his friends were clearly outnumbered. He could spot at least seven Death Eaters, probably more. There was no way a bunch of Hogwarts students could survive a direct encounter with such a number of Death-Eaters that were well-trained in killing other people. That only left the indirect approach. 

“We need to take out as many as we can from behind,” George whispered to his right. “Let’s wait for the group in the middle. I take the left one, Freddy you take the right one. The rest of you take out the two in the middle. As soon as they’re down we need to run to the doors, alright?”

There was no answer but the others communicated their approval of the plan by pressing his hand. A moment later Fred felt another tug on his hand, which gave him the sign, that they started moving. It was now or never. 

"Stupefy!" Fred murmured, after silently pulling his wand out of his sleeve. His spell squarely hit it target into the back, sending it unconsciously to the ground a moment later. 

“They’re here!” they heard the woman scream again and saw her turning into their direction. Just then another stunner flew towards the Death Eaters and took out another one of them. Only a moment later their disillusionment was suddenly cancelled, right in time to see Hermione throw another spell towards their enemies. It was blocked with a lazy wand motion from the woman in the middle of the group, who was no other than Bellatrix Lestrange.

“Well my friends, look who’s been stupid enough to set a foot into our little trap,” she said and as she didn’t wear a mask like the others did Fred could see her lips forming a mocking smile. "If that isn't the Open Link in the company of Baby Potter himself. The Dark Lord will be pleased if we're getting him all of you in one go." 

Fred cursed, immediately throwing a blasting curse into her direction. They needed to take those two down before the other Death Eaters arrived to fuel their ranks. Luckily the other’s seemed to have gotten the same idea, as another set of curses flew into the Death Eater’s direction, taking another one out as he was hit by three spells simultaneously. 

“Idiots! Get the twins and Potter and kill the other ones!" Bellatrix screamed before a killing curse left the tip of her wand. With wide eyes Fred saw it flying in his little brother's direction, only to be reflected by a magical shield right in front of him. Fred looked at the scene with wide eyes. That shouldn't have been possible. There was no known way to block the killing curse, so how… 

“You will not touch my friends,” she suddenly heard Hermione growl behind him, before she stepped in front of them with an angry expression on her face. It was a total unnatural sight, as her hair suddenly seemed to fizzle with energy and her eyes were huge and black, instead of their normal caramel-brown colour. Also, the air around her suddenly seemed to prickle with energy making the hairs on his arms to stand up. Fred stared at her with his heart agitatedly beating in his ribcage. What was happening to her? 

Bellatrix Lestrange seemed to be asking herself the same question, as she stared at the girl with a calculating expression on her face. That was the moment when the other Death Eaters finally burst into the hallway and another set of curses flew into their direction. But before any of them could get even close to Fred and his friends, Hermione blocked them with a large, fizzling shield. Fred stared at it with wide, confused eyes. How was she doing that?

“Stop staring and do something,” Hermione grit out and snapped him out of his stupor. “I can’t hold them back much longer.”

Fred saw his twin nod and following a sudden inspiration he pulled out a hand full of small black beads from his robe. With a quick motion he threw them onto the ground and a moment later the area around them was covered in darkness. “Run!” he shouted before taking off into the direction of the exit himself. He could only hope that his little distraction worked and they would be able to be getting away. Because if he wasn’t wrong Hermione had just put her cards on the table to protect them and by the look on Bellatrix’ face she had just understood, that neither Fred nor George were, in fact, the Open Link. 

++++++++

Severus just wanted to sit down with a bunch of first-year essays, when that annoying house-elf appeared in front of him on his desk. It wasn't Pucky or any other he knew, but the creature stared at him with wide, blue eyes and offered him a little piece of paper with trembling hands. 

“Miss Hermione sends Dobby with a message, Sir,” the little elf said staring at him with something like fear in his eyes. And suddenly Severus remembered where he’d seen the creature before. 

“You’re Lucius’ elf,” he said evenly, without taking the message from the elf. “Well, let Miss Granger know, that she can talk to me herself if she has a problem.” He looked at the creature with small eyes and most of them would have left his office trembling with fear by now, but Dobby just looked at him with a determined expression. 

"Miss Hermione said it is urgent, Sir," the little plague said and made two steps in his direction until it was standing right in front of him so that his nose was almost poking into Severus' chest. Then the little beast held the message right into his face. “Read it, Sir.”

Feisty little devil, Severus cursed inwardly. Now that persistent witch was starting to send him letters as if it wasn't enough that she still tried to get his attention. With a growl of annoyance, he plucked the message out of his face. For a moment he considered just putting the message aside, but suddenly he felt a warning tug in his chest and so he finally unfolded the message with a heavy sigh. It only took him a moment to scan the handful of words, she must have hastily scribbled onto the paper, but he had to read the message twice before he finally grasped what it was saying. He cursed. Merlin, when would that witch ever learn?

“Get the Headmaster, Dobby,” he said raising himself from his desk. “Tell him the Open Link has decided to stumble heads-on into a trap.” The elf nodded wide-eyed and with another plop he was gone. 

This was bad. What did the girl think following Saint Potter on his suicide mission into the Ministry? It was only a matter of time until they got themselves killed or captured and right now Severus wasn’t sure what was worse. But he swore to himself, if Potter didn’t get himself killed in his reckless stupidity, he’d kill the boy with his own, bare hands. 

Severus rushed to the door, connecting his office with his rooms. It was reckless, but there was no time for him to wait for the cavalry. If he wanted Hermione safe, he'd have to help her right away. It couldn't be long until those idiots met the first Death Eaters. He was just about to grab a hand of floo-powder from the mantle when he suddenly felt his magical energy draining out of him like somebody had pulled a stopper. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake off the feeling and with growing horror, he realized, that his knees suddenly started to buckle below him. There was only one explanation for it. Hermione had activated the Link and started pulling energy from his magical core. This could only mean, that those idiots had gotten themselves neck-deep into trouble and as Severus sunk tiredly to his side he realized, that there was nothing he could do to help them.

++++++++

“Come here, come here, wherever you are!” the mad witch’s singsong echoed through the corridors as Hermione and her friends dashed through the doors into the next room. Those Death Eaters were hard on their heels but they somehow needed to make it to the exit, if they wanted to survive. Because those crazy people were out for their blood and Hermione wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to protect her friends. 

Hermione looked around the room with wide eyes. They were back in the Time Room that was holding countless time-turners and for a moment she considered grabbing one to go back in time and warn herself about the trap. But she knew that time wasn’t working like that and so she just cast another shield and kept running. It was right in time, as she felt the blow from another curse hitting her shield and she couldn’t help but stumble. They couldn’t keep running like that, as their backs made easy targets for those Death Eaters. 

“Confringo!” A quick blasting curse made the wall of time-turners to her right blast into thousands of pieces, before the shelves collapsed and slid towards the Death Eaters as a huge avalanche. It wasn’t enough to hold them off, but it would hopefully buy her and her friends some time to make it to the next room. 

“Go!” Hermione shouted and a moment later Harry already held the door open for her and the five of them dashed through. Then the door behind them closed and they were back in the round room with the spinning doors. 

"Let's hope we find the right one," Ron said and looked at them with squinted eyes. But Harry had already made his decision and ran to the one straight ahead. They stumbled through, but unfortunately for them, it wasn't the exit out of that creepy department, no. They stumbled into the creepiest room that there was, the one with the veil in the middle of it. Did they have time to try out another door, before the Death Eaters would be behind them? Probably not. Hermione banged the door behind them closed and looked at her friends with a serious expression. 

"Alright," it's only a matter of time until they come looking for us here. "Let's hide and try taking them out from behind like before."

The boys nodded and Fred and George hastily started applying disillusionment charms. Hermione disillusioned herself, before she quickly moved along the wall until she had brought some distance between herself and the others. This way she wouldn't draw attention to the other's position when she started to attack. She heard some shuffling to her right and hoped that the others did the same. Hermione waited with a hammering heart and for some moments nothing happened. Then suddenly the door burst open so that part of it flew across the room and two Death Eaters stepped in.

“They aren’t here either,” the first one, a man going by the voice, said and looked around. “Where are those little rats hiding from us? They can’t have gotten too far.”

Hermione took a slow deep breath through her nose before she whispered: "Stupor." A moment later her red stunner blasted one of them from his feet, while the second one sagged to the side a moment later. She sighed in relief. They needed to go now before the other Death Eaters saw there colleagues lying on the floor.

"To the door!" she shouted and she was just about to make her first step when a dark-hooded figure appeared in the door. It wasn't a Death Eater, even though the white face staring directly at her disillusioned form could have been easily mistaken for a mask. But the snake-like features and the red eyes left no doubt about whom it was, that stepped into the room.

"I must say, I am impressed," he said looking around before a wave of his bony hand cancelled all their disillusionments. Hermione saw that Harry was only a few steps to her right, while the twins and Ron were almost at the other end of the room.

“Well Miss Granger,” the man said looking at her with his eyes glittering amusedly. “I must say, you gave us quite a chase. But I fear this little game is coming to an end now.”

Hermione stared at him with a stony expression. He knew, she realized, which meant that they were in serious trouble now. Where was Severus? Had he even read her message by now? Or was Dobby still trying to make him accept it? 

“You’re not touching her,” Fred suddenly growled from across the room and a second later he and his brother started casting. Some of the spells Hermione had never seen before, but the Dark Lord didn’t even bother to turn around and just shielded them without even raising his wand.

“Very amusing. The knights in shining armour," he commented and finally turned around to look at the twins. "Unfortunately I'll have to sever this little bond you have with my witch, as this thing is much bigger than your pitiful teenage romance." Like in slow motion Hermione saw him raising his wand and a detached part of her brain realized, that he was holding it like a conductor would hold his baton. Before he even started to cast a spell Hermione knew, that he wanted to kill them, as he had come to the conclusion that she must have bonded herself to them. The twins must have realized the same, as their eyes wandered to hers and stared at her with determination, while they raised their wands. Hermione bestowed them a silent nod before she too raised her wand. Only a second later a beam of yellow light left Lord Voldemort's wand and collided with the shield, she had managed to cast right on time in front of her twins. The redheads didn't think twice and send another handful of curses into the man's direction. But even though one of them even managed to hit him into the chest, he didn't even stumble and just looked at them with an amused smile on his face. “Is that all you got?”

Before any of them could answer, a phoenix bust into the room and with him Professor Dumbledore and several other Order members. The Headmaster appeared right in front of the twins and stared at the snake-like man with steel in his piercing blue eyes. “Well Tom, unfortunately for you those boys are under my protection. You took a high risk coming here today.” 

Hermione felt the relief flooding her body. They weren't saved yet, but with Dumbledore and the other Order members here, their chances had just significantly increased. But Lord Voldemort didn't seem concerned in the least, as Hermione heard his cold laugh echoing through the room a moment later. "You really should re-evaluate your priorities, old man," he said before he disappeared in front of their eyes. Hermione just wanted to relax, when she suddenly felt a white, cold hand close over her mouth and pull her against a bony chest. And just as she stared at her friends with a frightened expression, she could see the horror of realisation dawn on the Headmasters face. 

“You can keep those twins, for now,” the Dark Lord’s cold voice stated coolly right behind her and Hermione felt a shiver of fear and dread run down her back. "I'll keep the girl instead."

Suddenly his voice sounded smug, Hermione realized and she could only imagine his red eyes gloating with victory behind her.

Hermione had barely enough time to focus her eyes on the Headmaster, horror and realization what was about to happen with her shining in them. Then she could feel herself being pulled away in an apparation and everything around her went dark.

end of part 1 of the story


End file.
